Perfectly Content
by All Star Imagination
Summary: When Ren Gallagher transfers to Hogwarts, Sirius Black takes immediate interest in her. However, he has competition from none other than Remus Lupin, so Sirius realises he's going to have to up his game. Rated M for smut in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, welcome to my first fic :) This is a Sirius/OC story, however it starts out a Remus/OC story. I know, original. **

**There will be smut in later chapters, don't you worry, but it does take a while to take off. If there are any mistakes with grammar and spelling, I apologize now. I currently don't have a BETA.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Ren Gallagher, her family and the plot. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling.**

Perfectly Content

_Chapter 1_

Ren sat on the window seat of her bedroom that overlooked Diagon Ally. She raised the arm that was dangling out of the open window and took a final drag from her cigarette before stubbing it out in the tacky mug her sister, Vanessa, gave her last Christmas.

It had been her ashtray for the last four months. To be quite honest, Ren thought a bit of ash and some cigarette buds were an improvement to the hot pink mug with black platform heels, and the text _'Take a walk on the wild side' _etched on the side.

She was depressing herself with thoughts about Sweden again. Whenever she got five minutes to herself her thoughts would always turn to her old home. She missed it. After her father had been transferred to the Swedish Ministry when she was eight years old, she had spent the last nine years of her life living in an old farm house in the Swedish country side.

She didn't really miss her old school. You had to be tough at Durmstrang. If you weren't tough going in, you were tough coming out.

She didn't miss the people either. All the girls were ditzy airheads who managed to get under Ren's skin within a five minute conversation, and all the boys were cocky, aggressive and seemed to take pride in the number of girls they could get into bed.

It was safe to say, Ren didn't acquaint herself with them if she could help it.

What Renee Danielle Gallagher missed about Sweden, was Sweden itself. She had lived in a beautiful, red brick farmhouse with her family. They had been surrounded by nature. Ren had been able to sit under the huge, twisted willow tree at the end of their garden and draw the wildlife that surrounded her, or play her guitar to her heart's content.

But now that they lived in a large three story building, wedged between Gambol and Japes and Potage's Cauldron Shop, she could only play in the seclusion of her room, and even then her mother, Violet, would often complain about the noise.

However Ren could no longer sit brooding because a shrill voice coming from downstairs suddenly disturbed her from her thoughts.

"Ren?" The voice called. Ren gave an audible sigh. "You've been getting a hair bobble for the last forty five minutes now!"

When Ren didn't respond, it called again. "Ren, come downstairs right now before I come and get you myself!" It yelled.

"Shit," Ren murmured. She stood and stretched. As she did so, she caught sight herself in her bedroom mirror. She smiled slightly. Though Ren was by no means vain, she did like the way she looked.

She had long, brown hair which cascaded over her shoulders and down her back in loose curls. She was very tall, like her father, but she wasn't gawky and lanky. Quite the opposite in fact. She was slender and willowy like her mother.

She had a heart shaped face, a slightly button nose, and full, concave lips. But her eyes were her favourite feature. She had her father's eyes. Eyes the colour of dark chocolate with flecks of hazelnut.

After grabbing her wand and casting a quick Scourgify charm on her clothes to mask the smell of smoke, she opened the attic door and descended the small staircase that lead to her families living quarters. She travelled down the long hallways and down the stairs that lead the large, gleaming kitchen of The Dozing Dragon.

Upon entering the kitchen, Ren found her mother, Violet Gallagher, leaning against the large food prep island that stood in the centre of the kitchen.

Ren was an almost identical copy of her mother, with a few minor differences. These included the hair (though they both had long, curly hair, Ren's was darker), the eyes (Violets were a lovely, clear blue) and the fact that Ren stood at least a head taller then her Violet.

Violet was now watching Ren and she had a quizzical look in her eye.

"Yes?" Ren asked. She knew she would have to tread carefully because when her mum had that look in her eye, you never know whether you're about to dive head first into a bloodbath, or get away scot free.

"Oh nothing-" Violet began, "I was just wondering why you disappeared forty five minutes ago to fetch a hair bobble from your dresser and only return when I threaten to bring you down myself."

_'__Shit' __Ren thought. __'Okay you can get out of this.'_

"Ah yes, it's a funny story actually." Ren said, adjusting her position as if preparing to recite a tale of old. "You see when I got upstairs there wasn't a bobble in sight, so naturally I started looking for one…"

She paused and glanced at Violet to see if she was buying any of this. It would be a miracle if she did. Ren wasn't even buying this. Her mother merely stood there with her arms folded. She gave Ren a nod, indicating for her to proceed.

"…Right, and ten minutes later I still couldn't find one-"

"- So you looked for ten minutes? What did you do for the remaining thirty five minutes you were up there?" Violet asked, cutting Ren off mid-sentence.

"Yeah give me a minute, I'm getting there!" Ren said before leaping into story once more. "As I was walking down the hall to come back downstairs-" She paused. "- I heard Bernie whining when I walked past the living room, so I went in to see if he was alright."

"And?"

"Turns out, he... got his head stuck under the sofa." Ren said quickly.

Bernie was the families pet Crup. He was white with ginger markings on his body and face. He looked identical to a Jack Russell Terrier seeing as he had had his fork tail removed as a puppy so he didn't raise suspicion in the presence of muggles.

Ren knew if it was any other animal, Violet wouldn't have believed this ludicrous story, but Bernie was extremely dim and clumsy so there was the tiniest chance that she would.

"Under the sofa? How did he manage that Ren?" Violet asked slowly.

"He… chased his tennis ball under there." Violet raised an eyebrow. "So I had to lift the sofa to get him out, but then he did it again because his ball was still under there. So I had to get him out, and then move the sofa forward so I could get his ball." Ren concluded.

"Uh-huh, and this took you thirty five minutes?"

"In my defence, that sofa is heavy!" Ren argued.

It would be a miracle if Violet believed this. Ren had once managed to convince her younger brother Ollie that if he ate more then one slice of chocolate cake, a green gremlin would appear out of no where and start pelting you with cake for being a greedy guts… then again, he was six at the time.

"Ren?" Violets voice brought Ren swiftly out of her memories and right back into the situation at hand. "You do know that Ollie took Bernie for a walk through the ally fifteen minutes ago right?"

_'__Bollocks'__ Ren thought._

"No… No, I didn't know that." She was in for it now, she could feel it! But to Ren's surprise, Violet just laughed. Laughed!

"You do make me laugh Ren." She tossed Ren a black apron she had been holding which Ren caught easily. "Come on, we've already wasted enough time." She rose from the counter she had been leaning against and headed for the door which lead to the pub. "Oh and Ren-" She began, turning to face her daughter. "-There's a bobble around your wrist." And with that, she turned and walked through the swing door, into the loud and busy pub.

* * *

Ren stood there, staring at the door her mother had just disappeared through. In all honesty, she was surprised she had gotten away with that ridiculous lie.

'_Oh well.'_ Ren shrugged it off and started to tie the black apron around her waist.

She had been helping out at her parent's pub, The Dozing Dragon, since they returned from Sweden. Her family had lived in England until she was eight years old. Before they had moved to Sweden, her parents had owned the pub along with the Abbott family.

Her father had also worked at the Ministry part time in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures in order to earn some money on the side. Emmet was later transferred to the Sweden in order to work at a dragon reserve, meaning that the Gallagher's had moved to Sweden, leaving the Abbott's in complete control of her parents beloved pub.

Nine years later however, Violet and Emmet had received a letter from the Abbott's offering them sole ownership of the pub. It all happened so quickly from there. With complete control of the pub all profit would go to them, meaning Emmett would be able to quit his job at the reserve and still be able to provide for his family.

So by the time the school year was over, the family had packed all their belongings and flooing to England.

Tying her hair back as she walked, Ren followed her mum through the swing door to the chaotic and riotous pub that was The Dozing Dragon.

Upon stepping behind the bar, Ren was greeted by the site of witches and wizards of all ages enjoying the atmosphere the pub provided.

There were families with young children crowding around large tables, enjoying lunch. Groups of teenage girls sitting with their heads together, exchanging gossip while they take a brake from their shopping trips. The odd cluster of old men who sat nursing their firewhiskeys while reminiscing their youth. This was just naming a few.

Occasionally you would get the odd hag or goblin. Ren would always jump at the opportunity to serve the more unusual customers, which was useful because her sister, Vanessa, wouldn't go near them.

But now as Ren surveyed the scene in front of herm she realised she really wasn't in the mood to put on a fake smile and be polite to complete strangers.

"Hey, Ren!" Ren looked up to see her father, Emmett, standing further down the bar holding the stock room key. When he knew he had her attention, he gave her a quick smile before speaking again. "I need to run down to the stock room and get some more Butterbeers. Can you watch the bar for me?"

"Sure, but shouldn't Nessa be here to do it?" Ren asked with a furrowed brow. Her father let out a small sigh.

"She should but she's disappeared again." With that, he turned and went through a small door that lead down to the cellar store room. _'Of course Ness would take it upon herself to disappear' _Ren thought.

Her fifteen year old sister, Vanessa, was going through the typical hormonal teenage stage. She would complain if you asked her to do something and any spare time would be spent admiring herself in the mirror, brushing her blonde, shoulder length hair or applying another layer of make-up in the hopes of covering the light dusting of freckles that adorned her thin face.

She would also coat the fair eyelashes in black mascara, attempting to make her clear, blue eyes, identical to her mothers, stand out more.

It was a shame really in Ren's opinion. She was such a natural beauty, but that pack of prissy girls Vanessa hung out with at Durmstrang thought differently.

However, Ren's thoughts were dismissed by the arrival of a boy. The boy in question had sandy hair that fell halfway down his face, and looked to be about Ren's age. His Velvet Underground top was slightly tatty which gave him a slightly rough look.

When he looked up from the book he had placed on the counter Ren could make out some small scars here and there on his face which only boosted Ren's curiosity, as did the faint shadows under his light brown eyes.

Altogether he looked rather dishevelled, but there was still an attractive air to him. Ren decided it couldn't hurt to go and say hello and headed over.

"Hiya." She said casually, causing him to look at the girl standing directly opposite him, with only an old wooden surface separating them.

"Oh, hello." He said with a small smile.

"Can I get you something to drink?" She asked, returning the smile.

"Uh, sure… what do you have?"

"First time here, huh?" Ren queried. He nodded with another small smile. "Well we have all the regular wizarding stuff, but I think we're running low on Butterbeers, but we also have some muggle stuff. Tell me, have you ever tried Coca-Cola?"

"I can't say I have." The sandy haired boy answered.

"Oh well then, you're in for a treat!" And with that, she turned and bent to collect a bottle of Coca-Cola from a small fridge. She turned back to the boy and removed her wand from the pocket in her apron, and with a small flick the bottle cap popped off.

"That'll be two sickles." She said, placing the glass bottle on the bar. He handed over the silver coins and as Ren placed them in the till, he took a tentative swig.

His eyes widened slightly.

"I must say, those muggles sure do know their stuff at times." He said, looking at Ren. They both laughed before Ren stuck out her hand.

"Ren Gallagher." He took it.

"Remus Lupin." He said, still smiling. As Ren opened her mouth to say 'It's nice to meet you', she heard the unmistakable introduction of 'All Day and All of the Night' by the muggle band, The Kinks, started beating out of the old radio behind the bar.

Ren instantly ran the length of the bar and turned the volume dial up, before moving back over to Remus. He smiled and leaned over the bar to say (rather loudly over the music), "I see you have good taste in music!" Ren just laughed and started to dance to the beat of the music.

When the music finally started to die down, she turned to face Remus again who looked as if Christmas had came early.

"See, this is why I love Muggle Melody! You get all the boring news of the wizarding world, coupled with classic muggle music!" Ren said. "None of that Celestina Warbeck shit."

Muggle Melody had been her favourite radio station for as long as she could remember. She had even tried to get Vanessa into it, but she preferred the likes of Stubby Boardman and The Weird Sisters.

Fortunately, Ollie seemed to be picking up on her music taste, much to both Ren's and Emmett's relief.

Remus was now grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"The world would be a better place if there were more girls like you about." He said with a twinkle in his caramel eyes.

"Oh I agree completely," Ren remarked with a quick wink. "But something tells me the girls over there wouldn't be too chuffed about that." She said, motioning over to a group of girls who, when Ren had turned up the volume, had been looking at Ren as if she was an alien. They had now resumed their obnoxious giggling.

"What do they know?" Remus asked, taking another swig of coke.

"By the looks of them, not all that much." Ren said, noting the fact that they all had bleach blonde hair, orange skin, and more makeup on then Ren had ever worn in her life.

This earned a light chuckle from Remus. "So, what are you reading then?" Ren asked, looking down at the open book that lay forgotten on the bar.

"Oh-" Remus said. He closed the book and turned it over so that Ren could see the cover. "-Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie." He said with a nervous chuckle. "It's just this muggle book I found in a book shop in London. It's nothing really." He said awkwardly before attempting to put it back in the old rucksack that lay at his feet.

"No, no, let me look!" Ren argued. She made a swift grab for the book and, having played Chaser on her schools Quidditch team since the third year, managed to snatch it with ease.

She scanned the front cover before turning it over to read the blurb. Remus watched her with bated breath. "Sounds quite good." She simply said, handing the book back to Remus.

"You think so?" He asked tentatively.

"Oh yeah." she said with a reassuring smile. "And I'm quite partial to a good mystery book." She told him

"I'll lend it to you when I'm done if you want."

"I'd like that, thanks." Ren said, taking a quick glance down the bar as she did so. "Oh bollocks, right I'm just going to serve that old bat down there, she's starting to look slightly testy. Back in a minute."

And with that, she disappeared down the bar.

* * *

Remus watched her go, not bothering to hide his lopsided smile. _'This is easy.' _He thought to himself.

Normally when it came to talking to girls, he would get slightly awkward for no apparent reason, so he would leave the womanizing to Sirius or James.

Peter? Him not so much.

But Ren was almost too good to be true. She was nice, funny, had good taste in music, liked reading, and was pretty. Scratch that. She was stunning. By far one of the prettiest girls he had ever laid eyes on.

There had to be something wrong with her! No one could be that perfect. Maybe she wasn't very bright? No, she didn't strike him as the type. Plus he could tell by the way she spoke that her level of intellect was rather impressive.

Maybe she had six toes on one foot and four on the other? _'Oh come on Remus, be realistic!'_ he thought, mentally slapping himself…

'_Maybe I could get a glimpse at her feet if she's wearing sandals? Shit, here she comes.' _

Remus sat up a little straighter when Ren appeared again. He glanced down at her feet as she approached. _'Damn! No sandals.'_

"God, I thought that woman would never stop talking!" Ren explained with a sigh. "She kept going on about how Madame Primpernelle's Beautifying Potions were working wonders for her. It took all my willpower not to point out that she still had a huge wart on the end of her nose!"

Remus laughed.

"I almost hexed her when she said I could do with some!" Ren said with a petulant look on her face.

"I don't think you need any, you have lovely… skin." Remus said, taking a last gulp of coke, trying to hide his blush.

"Thanks…" Ren said, smiling at him at she did so. Remus straightened again.

"So how did you end up working here?" He asked

"Oh, well my parents own the place. Yeah, we used to have shared ownership with another family, but we ended up moving to Sweden. But a couple of weeks ago we were offered sole ownership, so here we are." Ren concluded with a small smile.

"Sweden? Wow, what's it like there?" Remus questioned.

"Cold." Ren said, causing Remus to chuckle slightly. "No it's pretty awesome. My dad used to work at this reserve for Swedish Shortsnouts. He would take me, my sister and brother to see the tamer dragons sometimes. I even got to sit on one." Ren told him.

"Seriously?" Remus asked. She just nodded in reply. Remus couldn't help but admit he was impressed. Most of the girls at Hogwarts would have run for cover at the mere sight of a dragon. "What school did you go to?"

"Durmstrang-" She answered, with slight bitterness in her voice. "- but I'm spending my final year at Hogwarts."

Remus nearly choked on his own spit.

"So you're spending the next year at Hogwarts?" He asked. Ren nodded. "So am I." He said while grinning. He couldn't help himself. Not only was she hot, funny and interesting, she was his age!

Who cared if she had seven toes!

She was grinning back at him now, which made Remus' stomach do a quick jump.

"Really? Thank God! I thought I would have to endure being a loner." Remus laughed. As he did the swing door behind Ren burst open, and a blur of white and ginger bounded through and headed straight for Ren, who welcomed this with open arms.

"Hiya Bernie!" She exclaimed, picking the blur up and bringing it to Remus' eye level. In her arms, Ren held what looked like a Jack Russell terrier with a docked tail, and a very dopey expression. "Remus, this is Bernie, our Crup."

"A Crup? I've never met one before." Remus said, reaching over the bar and ruffling Bernie's ears. This earned a good couple of licks from said animal.

"How many times do I have to tell you Ren? No animals or little brothers behind the bar!" Said a voice coming from the right of the two teenagers.

A man had just emerged from a small, dark green door, carrying three large crates, stacked one on top of the other and topped off with an old magazine.

He had dirty blonde hair and stood well over six feet tall. He was wearing dark muggle jeans with a crisp white shirt, and had a black apron tied around his waist just like Ren.

"In all fairness Dad, I didn't call Bernie. He just came running at me as he always does." Ren said, taking the Crup back to the room beyond the swing door, before returning and helping unload the Butterbeers that her father had brought up.

"Alright, alright, I believe you."

"Anyway, you were down there for a while. I was beginning to think you were doing a Nessa and hiding in order to avoid doing any work." Ren said, nudging him in the side. The man laughed.

"I wish. No, I found this old Wasp's magazine lodged between the crates. I was just having a little look." He said, picking up the magazine which Remus now saw was adorned in black and yellow stripes with the flashing headline; _'WIMBOURNE WASP'S: CAN NO ONE STOP THEM?'_

"Ohhhhh! Pass it here!" Ren said excitedly. The tall man tossed it to her and she was buried behind it in seconds.

"I take it you're a Quidditch fan then?" Remus asked.

"Understatement of the century." The man said with a smile. "Emmett Gallagher, Ren's dad." He said, sticking out his hand. Remus took it.

"Remus Lupin, it's nice to meet you." Emmett smiled again.

"Right back at you. So how long have you two known each other?" He asked, glancing back at Ren who still had her nose buried in the magazine.

"Not long really, Ren introduced me to the muggle wonder that is Coca-Cola and it only went upwards from there." Remus replied.

Emmett laughed. As he did, a small boy with brown hair that had an interesting red tint to it came through the swing door and sauntered up to Emmett. The boy had a shifty look on his face.

Remus noticed that the boy's dark eyes, that were identical to Ren's, were avoiding making contact with anyone and his cheeks, which were covered in freckles, were slightly flushed.

"Remus, this is my youngest Ollie. Ollie this is Remus." Emmett said. The small boy gave Remus a small wave and a quick "Hello" before turning back to his Dad.

"Erm Dad, you know that lamp on the landing? You didn't really like that did you?" Ollie asked. Emmett raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't, but your Mum did." The boy paled.

"Uh-oh." He said. Emmett sighed.

"Really Ollie? How did you break this one?"

"It wasn't my fault this time! Bernie ran into it and- Hey! That's mine!" Ollie was now pointing at the magazine in Ren's hands.

"Dad found this in the storeroom. How did it get down there Ollie? Seeing as you're not allowed down there." Ren asked with a smirk. As Ollie was about to retort, Emmett saw fit to interrupt before the argument escalated.

"It doesn't matter!" Emmett sighed. "Ren give Ol his magazine. Ol, you know Mum doesn't want you down there. Now come on, let's go and fix that lamp. Ren, can you finish up here?"

Ren nodded and threw the magazine to her brother, before returning to placing the bottles on the shelve behind her. "Great. Remus, it's been nice meeting you." Emmett said, and then disappeared through the swing door with Ollie hot on his heels

"That's the third thing he's broken this week. First it was a plate, then a vase, and now that hideous lamp. I think we're better off without it in all honesty." Ren said as she put the final bottle of Butterbeer on the shelf, and turning to face Remus.

She picked up some stray glasses and placed them in a cleaning tray.

"It's only Wednesday." Remus said, his brows knitting together slightly. But before Ren could respond, a girl with light blonde hair that fell just beyond her shoulders, entered behind the bar.

Remus thought she would have been quite pretty if not for the fact that she was caked in make-up, and was wearing a facial expression that made her look like she had just stepped in something nasty.

She flounced over to Ren and let out an exaggerated sigh. When Ren simply continued to wipe the bar top with an old, checked towel, the blonde let out another sigh. And again. And again.

"Something wrong Vanessa? I ask because you seem to be having some trouble breathing quietly." Ren asked with a stony expression.

The girl named Vanessa turned and gave Ren an exasperating look, which made Remus feel immense irritation towards her.

"Ugh, well if you really want to know, I was at Madame Malkin's-"

"-Oh, when you were meant to be here helping Mum and Dad?"

"Shut up," Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Anyway, so I was at Madame Malkin's and I saw these gorgeous coral robes with a sweetheart neckline, but they were fifty galleons, and I didn't have any money on me. So I came back, and even before I could ask Mum, she started yelling at me, saying 'we can't afford for you to just abandon the bar', or some complete rubbish like that. So I started yelling back saying 'I didn't abandon anything because I came back'."

She scoffed and looked at Ren as if expecting her to be appalled by her Mothers actions, but Ren merely stood there staring at Vanessa with a perfect poker face.

"So you're under the impression that our Mum, who needs all the help she can get with this pub, is being unreasonable because you disappeared without a word to anyone, when you agreed to help out?" Ren asked, her voice remaining casual. Vanessa stared at Ren.

"Yeah… don't you?" she asked, rather indignantly. Remus couldn't help but raise his eyebrows at this comment. Not that either of the sisters noticed. They were both locked in a fierce staring battle. Clear blue looking up into the darkest of brown.

"No… funnily enough, I don't." Ren said, never braking eye contact with the small blonde. "As a matter of fact, I think that someone who happily abandons their job to go dress shopping is the unreasonable one here." Ren said, taking a step towards Vanessa. "You're the one causing trouble here Ness, so pull your head out your arse, and start pulling your weight around here!"

Vanessa let out a noise that sounded like a cross between and a cat meowing, and strutted through the door.

Ren sighed and turned back to Remus who gave her a reassuring smile. "Sorry you had to witness that." She said, leaning on the bar.

"Don't be, truth be told it was rather entertaining." He told her.

"Well in all honesty I can't talk seeing as I fucked off upstairs for forty five minutes just to have a cigarette."

"At least you didn't actually leave the building." Remus said. Ren chuckled, but Remus couldn't help but notice that the smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Vanessa's just going through the typical teenage stage," She gave a small flick of her hand, as if she was flicking a fly away. "She's quite hostile to everyone recently… me especially." She added quietly.

Remus detected a slight hint of distress in the way she trailed off. However, as if she could sense Remus' silent questioning, Ren straightened up and smiled. "So Remus, may I ask why you're spending this lovely, summer day cooped up in here with only a book for company? When you could be out there enjoying the sun?" Giving him a playful nudge.

"Well I arranged to meet my friends, James, Sirius and Peter, here-" he looked at the clock that hung above the till "-forty minutes ago." Ren's eyes widened slightly.

"Forty minutes ago? Wow, well it's a good thing you've had me to talk to then. The times flew by." Remus laughed.

"Yeah but they're always late. You get used to it."

"Well you might want to have another coke then if the chances of them turning up anytime soon are slim." Ren said, chuckling as she did so. She then retrieved another bottle of coke from the fridge and opened it. "Here," She handed it to him. "Have this one on me for making today more bearable."

He smiled. She really was brilliant. He looked into her eyes and couldn't help studying them. They were beautiful. So dark that he almost couldn't make out her pupils, and they were coated by her long eyelashes that seemed to flutter slightly whenever she blinked.

"So tell me about these friends of yours." She said after she had grabbed a bottle for herself. This took Remus by slight surprise.

"Oh, erm. Well there's Peter, who's kind of quiet but when you get to know him, he's lovely." Ren smiled and nodded for him to continue. "Then there's James. Messy hair, glasses, Quidditch fanatic." Ren laughed at this. "He's head over heels in love with this girl, Lily, but she isn't a huge fan of him to say the least."

"That's a shame." Ren said, taking a swig of coke.

"And finally there's Sirius." _'How do I describe Sirius?'_ Remus thought. He chose his words carefully. "Handsome… but he knows it. He and James are the school troublemakers, never one without the other. What else? Oh yeah, he's a bit of a womanizer."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, he probably had some girl pressed up against a wall as we speak."

"He sounds charming." Ren said playfully. Remus laughed again.

"They're not so bad once you get to know them. I'm not exactly doing them justice." However as the words left his mouth, Remus began to wonder if he wanted Ren to get to know his fellow Marauders.

He liked her, despite the fact he hadn't even know her for twenty four hours. He felt strangely protective over her. He wasn't worried about Peter. That boy didn't have a threatening bone in his body.

And James was the least of his worried seeing as he was so infatuated in his quest to win Lily's heart. _'You had to admire the guy's persistence_.' Remus thought.

No, the one who worried Remus was Sirius.

Sirius would no doubt see Ren as, as Sirius would say, "A hot piece of ass", and would try to get into her knickers within a minute of meeting her.

Though this thought unsettled Remus, he doubted very much that Ren would fall for Sirius' tricks. Not that he doubted Sirius' wooing techniques in the slightest.

Last year Sirius had brought numerous amounts of girls back to their dormitory. How did Remus know this? Because Sirius never seemed to remember to cast a silencing charm over his bed.

So Remus, James and Peter would always have the 'pleasure' of listening to random girls moaning and panting Sirius' name as he ploughed into them with such a force that wooden bed would be banging up against the wall.

Now, while some (Peter for example) found this experience elating, Remus didn't. He would rather be the one making the girl cry out his name, and he didn't particularly enjoy listening to someone else do so. It made him feel like he's eavesdropping.

But from seeing Ren's fiery attitude, Remus had a feeling that Sirius' attempts to woo Ren would only provoke irritation from the beautiful brunette.

Remus couldn't help but smirk at the thought of this, as he took another swig of coke.

**Yaaaaaay, first chapter! :D It's long right? 14 pages in Microsoft Word! All the chapters I have planned out are stupidly long, I apologize for that as well :S Anyways, thanks for reading, and please rate and review :)**

**Evie x**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello :D I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas, I certainly did:P  
Okay so Sirius is introduced in this chapter (Yes!), as is James. I tried to give them that kind of relationship that is pure banter. Typical boys. Once again this chapter is un-beta'd (?) so if there are any mistakes with spelling and grammar, I apologize now.**

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing *sigh***

**Anyway, on with the story!**

Perfectly Content  
_Chapter 2_

Sirius Black grinned as he walked through Diagon Ally towards Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. The crowd seemed to part like the Red Sea as the raven-haired teenager swaggered along the cobbled path.

As he approached the Parlour, he saw his best friend James Potter standing outside, looking towards the Leaky Cauldron.

The bespectacled boy was wearing an Appleby Arrows t-shirt and simple muggle jeans. His thin face had a rather whimsical expression to it when he turned back and his hazel eyes lit up when he saw Sirius approaching.

"Hey Prongs." Sirius said, giving James a pat on the back as he reached him. "Where's Peter?"

"Oh, he can't make it." James told him as the two of them started walking towards the pub they had arranged to meet Remus in.

"Look, do you reckon I have time for a quick fag before we meet Moony?" Sirius asked his friend.

"No you don't! We're already-" he looked at his watch "-fifty five minutes late. I got hold up in Quality Quidditch Supplies." James told Sirius as they passed two witches who were staring at Sirius hopefully, and burst into fits of giggles when he winked at them. "What took you so long?"

Sirius smirked upon answering.

"I was in one of those little alleyways just off Knockturn Ally with Bertha Jorkins." He said. James snorted.

"You shagged Bertha Jorkins in a shabby little alleyway? Real classy Padfoot!" James sniggered.

"I didn't shag her!" Sirius said defensively. "The ally was too small. I got a blowjob though." He added with a grin.

"I'm not bothered whether it was sex with someone down an alleyway or not, it's the fact that it was Bertha fucking Jorkins!" James exclaimed with a slightly disgusted look on his face.

"Oh shut up, she's not that bad. There's just… a little more of her to love then other girls."

James shuddered.

"I saw Evans just before you turned up with that Emmeline girl." James said with a dreamy expression. "She didn't scoff when I smiled, she almost smiled back!" Sirius laughed.

"Baby steps mate." Sirius said, giving his friend another pat on the back.

"Do you think Moony will have been alright on his own?" James asked as the two of them approached the large white building. It had a trellis of flowers on either side of the door that reached up to the attic window, and the two boys could make out the gleaming, metal letters saying 'The Dozing Dragon' above the entrance.

"What? Oh yeah, he'll have had his nose in a book the whole time. Bet you five galleons." Sirius said.

"You're on." James said, pulling the door open. Upon stepping into the rather crowded pub, the two boys started scanning the room for a mop of sandy hair bent over a book.

"Oh my god! Padfoot, look over there!"

Sirius looked over to the bar that James was pointing at and felt his jaw drop. There, sitting at the bar, was a tall, lanky teenage boy with sandy blonde hair who looked very much like Remus Lupin, but he was doing something that James and Sirius rarely saw him doing.

Talking to a girl! And not just any girl. A fucking hot girl!

She had long, brown, curly hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. Sirius couldn't tell for sure because she was leaning on the bar, propped up on her elbows displaying a delicious cleavage towards Remus, but she looked like she was tall and slender.

Sirius could make out her curves and felt his pants tighten slightly. The girl laughed and straightened up, before turning around and bending down to collect two bottles, giving Sirius, James, and Remus in particular, a fantastic view of her ass.

And what an ass it was!

How this girl came to be enjoying conversation with Remus was beyond him.

"That's not our Remus." Was all Sirius could say. "He just looks identical to him. There's no way our Remus could make a girl laugh like that. Especially a girl with an ass like hers!" Sirius exclaimed, pointing to the girl who was now handing Remus one of the two bottles. James just shook his head in disbelief.

"Five galleons! Now!" He said suddenly, turning on Sirius as he did so.

"What? Why?" Sirius asked.

"Because, Little Miss Cock-Tease over there," James began, pointing towards the girl. "Is most defiantly, not a book!" He said with a disdainful smirk.

"Oh come on mate! I'm broke and homeless-" Sirius said, finally tearing his gaze from the mystery girl. "-you can't expect me to follow up on that." He said with a shrug.

"If you're broke, how come you can afford to stay at the Leaky?" James asked.

"Well let's just say, the landlady let's me pay her in other ways." Sirius said, turning back to face Remus and the girl.

"Dude, the landlady at the Leaky is like, forty." James said, frowning as he did.

"I know." Sirius said, without even looking at James.

"Well you wouldn't have to fuck the old woman if you would just come and stay with us already!"

"I told you, I want to leave it a week or two, so you can have some time with your parents, before I come and intrude." Sirius paused. "Come on, let's go Remus and Little Miss Cock-Tease."

And with that, he descended the small steps of the entrance and bounded towards the bar.

* * *

"Wait, wait, let me get this straight," Ren started, placing her coke on the counter. "You're telling me that there's a giant tree that attacks anyone who gets too close to it on the Hogwarts grounds?"

Remus laughed and picked up his bottle.

"Yep, it's called the Whomping Willow." He said, taking a swig. Ren just gawped at him.

"That's amazing! People should have competitions to see who can get the closest. I'd join in." She said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. Remus laughed again.

"People do. Two in particular-" But before Remus could elaborate, they were interrupted by the arrival of two boys collapsing onto barstools, either side of Remus.

"Well, well, well. Who have we here Moony?" asked the taller of the two boys. His shiny, dark hair fell just above his shoulders and his cloudy grey eyes scanned Ren's face.

He flashed a charming smile which made Remus' insides curl. He knew exactly what Sirius wanted when that smile appeared. Yet Ren returned it.

"I'm Ren." She said, sticking her hand out, first to James who shook it with a smile and then to Sirius, who took it, but instead of shaking it, brought it towards his lips and kissed it, lingering slightly when he was finished.

Her peripheral vision just caught Remus rolling his eyes.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Ren." The boy said, still holding her hand. "I'm-"

"You could only be Sirius." Ren interrupted, pulling her hand back. "Which means-" She turned to face the other boy. "-You must be James."

James gasped dramatically.

"How did you know?" He asked.

"Yeah Remus, how does she know?" Sirius questioned, turning to the sandy haired boy who was now taking a swig of coke.

"Well I couldn't help but indulge Ren in some of your Hogwarts adventures." He said with a shrug of his shoulders. He couldn't help but smile. He knew that Sirius wouldn't want anything to dampen his chances of getting this Goddess into bed.

"Yes, I found them very amusing." Ren said, smiling. "I particularly liked the bewitching of the potions instructions." She said. Her smile was now a smirk. She straightened. "Right, I should probably start doing my job and get you boys a drink. What can I get you?" She asked.

"Just a Butterbeer for me please." James said, handing over two sickles. Ren collected a bottle from the shelve behind her and handed it to James, having removed the lid.

"And for you?" She asked, turning to Sirius, who Remus noticed had been checking out Ren's bum when she had turned around.

"Is it too early to start drinking?" Sirius inquired with a playful smirk. Ren just looked at him for a moment before speaking again.

"Hm, well some would consider-" She glanced at the clock. "-quarter to twelve too early to start drinking."

"Do you?" Sirius asked, his eyes twinkling.

"No but-" But what Ren was about to say was drowned out by the arrival of a woman who could only be Ren's mother.

She was slightly more buxom then Ren and at least a head shorter. Her hair was a lighter shade of brown but it was curly just like her daughters.

And although her eyes were a light blue and were completely from the Ren's brown, they had the same warm glow about them. Minus the eyes, their facial features were practically identical.

When she reached her daughter she gave her a quick smile before speaking.

"Ren, I'm going to need you to come and help me in the kitchen. We have a tonne of dinner reservations tonight so we'll need a lot of food prepping." The woman said.

"Well who's going to watch the bar?" Ren asked. The woman shifted.

"Vanessa's going to come out." Remus gulped. If that blonde was going to make an appearance Remus would be leaving immediately.

With or without the others.

"Fine. I'll be there in a minute." Ren said, smiling at her mother.

"Thank you chick." The women said. She was about to leave when she noticed the boys. "Oh, hello. Sorry I didn't introduce myself. I'm Violet, Ren's mum. She said. "Who're your friends Ren?" She asked her daughter.

"My 'friends' are Sirius, Remus and James." She said, pointing to each of them in turn.

"It's nice to meet you boys." She said, giving them a warm smile before turning to Ren. "Kitchen. Two minutes." Then she turned on her heel and walked through the swing door.

"Great, she probably thinks I'm shagging all three of you now." Ren said. James and Remus chuckled.

"And that's a bad thing?" Sirius asked, causing Remus to stop laughing abruptly.

"… Yes." Ren said simply. "Well I'm gonna' go. It's been… interesting, meeting the three of you." She said with a grin. Remus smiled back. She had such a pretty smile. "I'll see you all around and Remus-" He met her gaze. "-I'll owl you." Remus grinned.

"Y-yeah, sure. Brilliant!" He managed to get out. _'She wants to see me again! Not Sirius! Me!' _

She smiled, gave the group a small wave and turned and followed her Mother through the door. Remus watched her go, as did Sirius, but Remus had a feeling Sirius' gaze was a little lower then her own.

"Fuck me, I would destroy her." Sirius muttered. Remus inwardly scoffed at Sirius' tastelessness.

"Too bad she didn't find your antics interesting." James said, laughing as he did so. "But I think you could be in with a chance there Moony." He added.

Remus just grinned. He was about to respond when he heard a familiar voice from behind the door Ren had just disappeared through.

It sounded like Vanessa had found something else to complain about.

"Come on boys, let's get out of here." He said, pulling James and Sirius out of there seats.

* * *

When Ren entered the kitchen, she was greeted by the site of her mother standing next to the sink, which was filled to the brim with potatoes.

Ren understood that she was to peel them and took out her wand with the intention to get it over and done with, but Violet held up her hand.

"What?" Ren asked.

"No magic." Violet said.

"What? Why? I'm not the one who buggered off to go shopping! I don't deserve this!" Ren exclaimed. Her mother only laughed.

"Maybe so, but you were the one who disappeared upstairs for forty five minutes, doing God only knows what, and then fed me a load of bollocks in attempts to cover whatever it was you were really doing."

Ren just stared at her mother with her mouth hanging open slightly. _'Damn.'_

"Oh." She said quietly.

"Oh indeed." Violet said, not bothering to hide her enjoyment.

"Is that really worthy of a whole sink of potatoes?" Ren asked. Her mother just shrugged.

"Also, if you're in here, I know you're not enticing those three young men out there with the good looks you inherited from me." Violet said with a grin.

'_Here we go.' _Ren grimaced.

"Mum, I just met them for God's sake." Ren said, trying to keep her voice calm.

"I'm just saying! The handsome one, what's was his name? Sirius! He looked like a nice guy. And that Remus! He was looking at you as if you had just invented a cure for Spattergroit!" Violet said with an almost proud tone.

At the mention of Remus, Ren found herself feeling slightly flushed. Although she had just met him, Ren could tell that the sandy haired boy had a heart of gold.

However as soon as that warm, fuzzy feeling had arose, Ren pushed it back down.

Ren didn't want another relationship, nor did she need one. Her last boyfriend had been a boy named Will, and it was safe to say it didn't turn out well.

Sure, it had started out all hugs and kisses, but after six months of happily dating, Will decided he couldn't be bothered to keep the relationship going and wanted to "Change things up a bit."

This basically meant he was bored of having sex with one girl, while all his friends were having competitions to see who could sleep with the most girls.

However what had hurt Ren the most was that Will didn't even bother braking up with her face to face. She had simply got an owl from him one day in the Easter holiday saying; "I guess I'm just not a relationship kinda' guy."

It was safe to say, that letter earned Will a punch in the face and a knee to the groin the moment Ren set eyes on him when the new term started.

Even if it was during Charms.

Ren didn't want to go through that again, so these feelings she may or may not have been developing for Remus would have to be extinguished as quickly as possible.

Upon thinking this, Ren looked her Mother dead in eye.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She said, before grabbing the potato peeler that lay on the draining bored and started on the mound of potatoes.

'_Merlin, how the fuck do muggles use these things?' She thought._

Violet had now moved next to her but Ren refused to make eye contact. Her Mother had a talent for being able to read people through their eyes. Ren just took out her frustration on the potato in her hand.

"Oh come on Ren! When are you going to let yourself find someone?" Violet asked. "You could have any man you want, but you just put up a wall whenever you come close to finding someone."

'_And with good reason!'_

When Ren didn't respond, Violet continued. "Look chick, I know what it's like being-" She was interrupted by Ren slamming down the potato and turning on her.

"-No, you don't Mum! That's the thing! You have no idea!" She snapped. "You told me that Dad was your first boyfriend. That means you've never gone through a break up! You don't understand how it feels to like someone so much that they have complete control over your heart, only to have them throw it out a window, into a road, and have it trampled on!"

She was yelling now. She hadn't shouted at her Mum like this in years, but Violets constant pestering for Ren to find someone had finally got to her.

It was odd. Normally, a girl's Mother would try to steer them away from settling down at a young age, but not Violet. She and Emmett had met at a Bob Dylan concert and started dating not long after. They were married not long after with Ren on the way.

It was a weird coincidence that they both had magic. They were at Hogwarts around the same time, yet neither knew that the other existed. Violet was in her first year when Emmett was in his last.

"Your Dad and I have gone through our fair share of difficulties-" Violet attempted to argue, but Ren refused to listen to her.

"But you're still together! You're still happy!" Ren sighed and leaned against the sink. "You were lucky enough to find your true love the first you looked," She began, not meeting her Mothers eyes. "I wasn't." She continued.

"Ren, I-"

"When I'm ready, I will settle down. But I'm seventeen, let me live a little." She looked up at her Mum who, without saying a word, embraced her.

"I'm sorry, Ren." Violet whispered in Ren's ear. Ren just chuckled softly.

"I'll let you off if I can do those potatoes by magic."

* * *

Sirius lay on his slightly lumpy bed, looking up at the peeling ceiling. He let out a long sigh, running his fingers through his hair as he did so.

He couldn't get that barmaid, Ren, out of his head. From the moment he first laid eyes on her, he knew he wanted to fuck her until the cows came home.

So he had used all his best charming techniques to try and win the beautiful brunette over. He had flashed his winning smile. This would normally make girls weak at the knees, but Ren hadn't even batted an eyelid.

Then, when he had kissed her hand, she had pulled away the moment his lips had left her flesh! If that had been any other girl, they would have been gasping for more!

But not Ren.

This only made Sirius want her more. When they had left the pub Sirius had been so distracted he didn't even brag about the blowjob he had received earlier that day to Remus.

Remus. Even though he was one of his best friends, Sirius knew that the werewolf was going to be a problem when it came to Ren. She had been to busy giggling and flirting with Remus to notice Sirius properly.

Sirius let out another sigh and rolled off the bed. He walked across the rented room and stopped in front of the window that overlooked Diagon Ally.

He could just make out The Dozing Dragon in the distance. What was wrong with him? He turned and made his way over to an armchair and looking around the modest room.

It consisted of a creaky double bed with crimson covers and a metal headboard, two armchairs of a similar colour that sat either side of a coffee table, a large oak wardrobe, a desk and chair, and the odd plant potted here and there around the room.

It wasn't the worst room in the place, but the lengths he had gone to in order to secure it were drastic. Even for Sirius.

His thoughts drifted back to Ren again. When he had been browsing Gambol and Japes with Remus and James, he had tried to question Remus as casually as possible.

He had found out that Ren had came over to Remus to get him a drink and conversation between them took off from there. Remus had told him that she was funny, smart and a fan of the Wimbourne Wasps.

Remus had also mentioned that he had met her Dad, brother and sister, and that they seemed like a perfectly nice family. Well, minus the sister.

However Sirius didn't press Remus for details. He didn't want to seem interested in the girl. But this didn't stop him from wanting to find out more about the brunette.

'_What is happening to me?' _Sirius thought. _'I never get like this! Girls get like this over me!'_

He didn't know what to do with himself. He had agreed to go to Bertha's house later on so they could… finish what they had started, but looking at the clock that sat on the desk, Sirius saw that he another three hours until her parents went to that fancy Ministry party.

He was going to have to come up with another way to entertain himself until then. _'Fuck this.'_ Sirius suddenly thought, standing up as he did. He grabbed his leather jacket, aviator sunglasses and his packet of cigarettes before marching out the door and heading downstairs.

Sirius walked across the inn, avoiding bumping into anyone, and placing both his jacket and sunglasses on. He then disappeared into London.

He walked until he came to a less busy part of the crowded city. As he strolled down the pavement, a man standing next to a motorbike, holding a sign that read _'For Sale'_ caught his eye. Sirius hurried over.

As he approached the man, Sirius saw that the bike was an old Triumph Bonneville. From what he could see, it looked like a T120.

"Yer' right mate?" the man said in a gruff, smoker's voice.

"Yeah, she's a beauty." Sirius said, looking over the bike. The man chuckled.

"Yer' tellin' me. Hate tha' I have to let 'er go, but' I need the money." He said, watching Sirius as he crouched down next to the bike to get a better look. "She run's like a beauty. Practically glides."

"How much do you want for her?" Sirius asked.

Even though he was pretty sure he had been cut off from his family inheritance, what with the whole blood traitor situation, he did have some money in a separate vault that his Uncle Alphard, a fellow outcast, had left him.

He hadn't told anyone about this money though, not even James. He had planned on saving it for emergencies.

This could be considered an emergency. What if he was surrounded by muggles and needed to get somewhere quickly? He certainly wouldn't have been able to apperate.

The man stroked his grey beard.

"Well, I'm quite desperate for the cash, and yer' the firs' person who's been interested." He paused. " 'Ow 'bout a grand?"

Sirius raised an eyebrow. He had three hundred and fifty galleons in his vault, and he was pretty sure that equalled around one thousand, three hundred muggle pounds.

Now while he knew a grand was a good deal, Sirius wasn't prepared to give away most of his gold. _Let's see how desperate he really is.'_

"Seven hundred?" Sirius asked.

"Nine." The man countered.

"Seven fifty."

"Eight fifty."

"Eight twenty five and a packet of fags." The man raised a bushy brow.

"Done." He said. Sirius beamed.

"Meet me at Charing Cross Road in an hour." Sirius said to the man, who nodded. As Sirius was about to walk away, he grabbed the unopened packet of cigarettes from his pocket, and chucked them to the man.

He then walked around a corner, looking over both of his shoulders to see if there were any muggles about, and then d_isapparated to Diagon Ally._

Fifty minutes later, Sirius was leaning against a building opposite the Leaky Cauldron with a cigarette in his mouth and eight hundred and twenty five pounds worth of muggle notes in his pocket.

He had practically ran to Gringotts and got the gold from his vault before raking it back to the main floor and exchanging it for muggle money. Then after spending ten minutes making a floo call to James, telling him of his purchase, he had make his way outside the Leaky Cauldron to wait for the brusque man and his new bike.

Suddenly a low growl filled the air, and the man rode around the corner. He had been right in saying that the bike glided.

The man stepped off the bike, and after Sirius had handed him the money, announced that he was going for a drink at his local pub. Sirius watched as he plodded down the road, around the corner, and out of sight.

Sirius grinned to himself before taking a seat on his new bike, his legs astride of the leather seat.

He had only rode a motorbike once before, a muggle bloke he had met at a pub had once offered him a go. Seeing as he had been playing Quidditch for as long as he could remember, it was safe to say Sirius was a natural.

Sirius let out a low sigh before turning on the ignition and riding in the direction that the man had headed.

He was going to arrive at Bertha's in style.

* * *

Remus sighed in frustration as he scribbled out another sentence from his potions essay.

He had been trying to correctly decipher the technique for creating the Draught of Peace for the last hour and a half, but to no avail.

He ran his hands through his hair as he exhaled. It had been three days since he had met Ren, and he hadn't been able to think of much since. So in an attempt to take his mind off her, he had decided to get an early start on Slughorn's essay.

Unfortunately for him, powdered unicorn horn and Valerian root was not enough to push the brunette from his mind. However he had a feeling that he was not the only Marauder that had Ren on the brain.

Despite his best efforts, Sirius had failed to hide the fact that he wanted to know more about Ren.

When they had left the pub, he had practically been breathing down Remus' neck in the hope of extracting information about her. Remus had decided it was best if he kept the information he divulged Sirius in short and simple.

He could sense the frustration radiating from Sirius.

He got up from his desk and walked towards his bed, glancing around the room as he did. It was very simple, much like Remus.

It was long, and the walls were a light shade of beige. The bed, which he was now sitting on, was below the window and pressed against the wall directly opposite the door.

It had plain black sheets, and was only about a foot from the floor. The curtains were dark brown and each of them would have draped onto the bed had Remus not tied knots in each of them.

Next to his bed was a small, black coffee table which acted as his night stand. It was arrayed in books, a muggle reading lamp, the odd chocolate bar wrapper, a quill and some spare parchment, a bottle of ink, and a potted cactus.

His battered Hogwarts trunk stood next to the table, propped open and revealing an assortment of his school books.

Along the wall opposite his trunk, stood a chest of draws and a large, overcrowded bookshelf. It was full of books, both muggle and wizarding. It was also bedecked with the odd trinket.

These included two photo frames. In one of the frames, was a wizarding photograph that showed four boys. Each of them were laughing and smiling.

Remus knew that the same photo was imprinted on Sirius' bedroom wall with a permanent sticking charm.

In the second frame, the photograph showed a small boy with sandy blonde hair, sitting on the shoulders of a man who had identical blonde hair.

Those were the days when his father's conscience hadn't been riddled with guilt. He had been able to laugh around Remus without it sounding forced. He had been able to smile and have it reach his eyes.

When Remus thought back on it now, he couldn't help but feel guilty himself.

His father had became solemn, serious and would always feel as if he had ruined his son's life, when he couldn't have possibly known of the consequences that would unfold.

Remus' thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of a magnificent Great Grey Owl soaring through the open window.

Its feathers were dark grey overall, but they were interspersed with bars and flecks of light grey and white. When the owl perched on Remus' desk, it appeared rather bulky because of its dense, fluffy plumage, relatively long tail, and large head.

On the rounded head, Remus could see a large circular facial disk consisting in six or more dark grey or brown concentric rings. The eyebrows were whitish and the chin was black with broad white sides.

The striking yellow eyes seemed to stare right into Remus' sole and he noticed that in its thin, hooked bill that was a yellowish to horn-colour was a note.

Remus sat up and he felt his brow furrow. He didn't recognize this handsome owl so he had no idea who would be writing to him. He walked over to the owl and hesitantly reached for the envelope which the owl released with a low hoot.

Remus studied the front of the envelope and saw his name written in casual, italic handwriting.

He turned it over, opened it and started to read. As he did, a small smile crept over his lips.

"_Hey Remus, I hope you're well. Right long story short, my Mum is organising this huge charity night at the pub in about a week and she wants me to perform._

_I wasn't going to do it so she decided to bribe me with a new outfit, and like the strong, independent woman I am… I accepted. So basically, she's allowing me to go into London later today and do some shopping on the condition that I take someone with me._

_When I couldn't think of anyone off the top of my head, she insisted I take Vanessa. You've experienced her, so you can probably understand why I would rather replace my eyelids with bleach-covered sandpaper, than take her._

_Then I remembered you._

_My Mum was delighted when I suggested taking a kind, funny, and handsome boy along with me and forgot all about me taking Vanessa._

_Anyway, if you're interested in coming with me, owl me back with Strix letting me know, and come down to the Dragon at half three. I hope you can come._

_Ren x"_

Remus read the note over two more times before scrambling back over to his desk and grabbing some parchment and a quill, causing the owl, he guessed was Strix, to spread his mighty wings and take off and perch on the chest of draws.

Remus scribbled a quick reply saying he would be happy to join her and rolled it up into a thin tube. He turned to face Strix, who swooped down and took the note in his bill. He then took off and soared through the window.

The sheer power of his wings, which must have been up to fifty five inches, made the paper on Remus' night stand fly onto the floor.

Remus watched him go before turning to his chest of draws and started riffling through his clothes. Although he knew it was just a casual meeting between two friends, Remus didn't want to look like an idiot.

By the time twenty five past three had rolled around, Remus was approaching the Dozing Dragon with a spring in his step and a smile on his face.

He entered the pub and headed towards the bar. He was greeted by the sight of Violet pouring a pint of Ale for a middle aged wizard, and Vanessa placing clean glasses on a shelf.

As he neared them, the conversation between the two reached his ears.

"Because Nessa, she's seventeen that's why! You're fifteen, it's different! And besides, he's not some random boy." Violet was saying with a rather exasperated tone.

She handed the wizard his glass, and caught sight of Remus as she did. "Remus, hi!" She said with a smile, moving over to him as she did so. "I'll go and fetch Ren."

She hurried through the swing door. Remus took a seat on a bar stool and looked around as he waited. He noticed Vanessa staring at him with a sour expression.

He gave her a tentative, but never the less polite smile which she didn't return. Even when he looked away, Remus could still feel her gaze on him. When he looked towards her again, she was now sauntering over to him.

This gave Remus a chance to take in her appearance properly.

She was wearing a white crop top that had a large, red love heart printed on the front of it. It hung off one of her shoulders showing the black strap of her bra.

She had paired the top with black hot pants, and on her feet she wore black gladiator sandals.

Remus saw that her toe nails were painted a very intense hot pink, as were her finger nails.

Her ash blonde hair hung over her shoulders, and Remus noticed that she was wearing just as much make-up as she had been on the day he had first laid eyes on her.

She stopped in front of him and gave him a smile which couldn't have looked more forced.

"So," She began in a voice that had a rather nasally quality to it. "You're the one taking Renee out to London." She didn't break eye contact with him, and Remus could feel himself squirm under her penetrating gaze.

He assumed that Ren was short for Renee, so he nodded and gave Vanessa a smile.

"Yeah, I guess so."

She didn't return the smile.

"Oh well, that's lovely." She paused. "So, how long have you two been sleeping together then?" She asked bluntly.

Remus just gaped at her.

"Excuse me?" He managed to choke out.

"I said, 'how long have you two been sleeping together?' it's not a difficult question." She said with a patronising tone you would normally speak to a five year old with.

Remus couldn't believe what he was hearing. He stared at the blonde.

"I only met your sister a few days ago." He said rather indignantly, to which Vanessa just scoffed.

"And? Renee works quickly." She countered. Remus wished Ren would hurry up. His tolerance was wearing thin, and he feared he may leave if Vanessa carried on.

"I can assure you," He began, in a low voice. "I haven't slept with Ren!"

Vanessa merely scoffed again.

"Sure, that's what they all say." She said, before turning and strutting towards a woman who was waiting to be served.

Before Remus could even register what the hell had happened, Ren appeared from a door to his left, beaming at him.

She looked gorgeous!

She was wearing a simple, blue plaid shirt that hung open, revealing a black corset top. The top itself was strapless and she wore it in a way that radiated class instead of tack. To the passer by, it could have just been a normal top.

The black top was tucked into a pair of high-wasted, denim shorts. On her feet she wore a pair of scruffy Converse that matched perfectly with the simplicity of the outfit.

Her brown hair had been tied into a loose plait that allowed the odd curl to escape, and it was draped over her right shoulder. Propped on the top of her head, were a pair of Ray-Ban 3447's.

Everything about the outfit suited her. Despite the simple-ness of it, it made her look elegant and chilled in such a way that Remus had never seen on a girl before.

"Hey Remus!" She exclaimed, bounding over to him as she did so.

He stood up and was pleasantly surprised when she wrapped her arms around him in greeting. "Thank you so much for coming today! I really appreciate it." She said, grinning at him. Remus couldn't help but chuckle slightly.

"Oh, it's fine. I didn't have anything important planned for the day." He said, his mind quickly flashing to the abandoned potions essay that lay forgotten on his desk. "Shall we go then?" he asked, to which she nodded.

He gestured for her to leave for and said "Ladies first."

Ren laughed and headed for the door, Remus followed with a grin.

**Didn't Sirius get a good deal for his bike? ;)  
****Another chapter, gone. Bam! Hope you liked it:3 Leave a review telling me what you think.**

**Evie x**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello! Here's Chapter 3 :D Shortest chapter so far, once again it goes un-BETA'd(?)  
****I still own nothing, in case you're wondering.**

Perfectly Content  
_Chapter 3_

Sirius slumped into one of the simple, plastic chairs outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour and was grateful for the shade that the colourful table umbrellas provided.

It was scorching hot, by far the hottest day of the summer so far. Sirius had begun to wonder why in the name of Merlin he had ventured from the comforts of his room.

Oh yeah, boredom.

He pushed his sunglasses back up his nose. They had started sliding down due to the trickle of sweat from his hairline. The heat really was unbearable!

'_Fuck this, I'll just sleep for the rest of the day.'_

Just as Sirius was about to haul himself from the chair, something caught his eye.

Remus was ambling through the ally, laughing and smiling with none other than a certain ravishing brunette.

Sirius watched Remus and Ren stroll straight past him without so much as noticing him. It had taken all of Sirius' willpower not to get up and wonder over to them.

In all honesty, Sirius was shocked by Remus. To see him to hold a conversation with a girl for more then five minutes was exceedingly uncommon, let alone willingly meeting up with one, without the presence of one of his friends.

He watched as Ren grabbed Remus' arm and dragged him over to a peddler that was selling roasted chestnuts. Sirius couldn't help his gaze wonder over Ren as she ordered two small bags of chestnuts.

He admired her long, lissome legs. Mrs Potter would have referred to them as dancers legs.

They were complimented and exaggerated by the shorts she was wearing. They hugged her hips and fitted her arse like a glove.

Sirius watched as she turned to Remus and handed him one of the paper bags before taking a plaid shirt from him, which Sirius assumed she had been wearing earlier, but had shed due to the unforgiving heat.

The two of them had started walking up the street and were heading towards The Leaky Cauldron. Without a second thought, Sirius rose from his chair and started following them.

He thought that if they were heading to the pub so they could have a drink, he could maybe gatecrash the couple. If not, he could simply head up to his room and sleep the day away.

He picked up the pace when he saw the brick wall reappearing behind Remus' tall figure.

When Sirius reached the wall, he took out his wand and tapped the required brick three times. He scurried through the courtyard and entered the pub, just in time to see Remus and Ren disappear through the door leading to London.

Sirius let out a small sigh. He wasn't going to be able to prevent the two of them spending the day together.

He could only imagine what he would be doing with Ren if he was in Remus' place, and it involved holding her against a wall in some alleyway with her long legs wrapped around his waist, drawing him in closer and moaning in his ear as he sucked on the pink flesh of her neck.

Looking around the pub, Sirius noticed the landlady ogling at him. When she caught his eye, she gave him a wink. Sirius tried not to shudder as he headed up the creaky stairs.

Maybe it was time to James up on his offer.

* * *

Ren and Remus walked side by side through the crowded streets of London. Although she hated to admit it to herself, Ren couldn't deny that Remus did look rather handsome.

He wore simple medium wash jeans teamed with a plain white t-shirt, however what Ren liked most about the outfit were the slovenly, run down Converse on his feet.

They gave Ren's a run for their money.

"So, what kind of outfit are you looking for?" Remus asked, making Ren jump slightly.

"Oh," Ren began, collecting herself. "Well, Mum said that theme of the night is glamour and allure, so she told me to get 'something that's sexy and sensual, but won't give my Dad a heart attack.'" Ren paused. "Her words, not mine."

Remus' eyes widened slightly.

"Right," He said, running a hand through his hair. "I imagine most Mother's would never encourage their daughter to get a 'sexy' outfit." He chuckled nervously. Ren smiled at him.

"Ah, well my Mother is a strong believer of; if you've got it, flaunt it. Plus she thinks customers will flock into the pub if the star attraction is wearing a sexy dress." Ren said with a smile.

When she looked up to Remus, Ren saw that he was looking at her with a quizzical look in his eyes.

"No offence, but doesn't that make you feel like you're being used?" He asked tentatively.

"Not really, I mean I can see why you would think that it would, but it really doesn't. I get to perform for a real audience, and I get a new dress out of it."

Remus smiled.

"What is it you do when you 'perform' anyway?" He asked her as they turned down a busy high street. Every shop window was filled with mannequins wearing dresses of every kind.

"Haven't I told you?" Remus shook his head in answer.

"Oh, I sing." She told him, blushing slightly. Remus' eyebrows disappeared into his hair.

"Really?" He asked, clearly impressed. She nodded, the blush now dominating her cheeks.

"Yeah, have done for years. That's why I don't really mind living at the pub. Mum and Dad promised me a regular gig there." She said with a small smile.

"Wow, I take it you're good then?" Remus asked, with an almost cheeky grin. Ren laughed.

"Well, I don't want to brag… but yes." Ren said, winking at him.

She suddenly stopped abruptly and hurried over to a shop window. She gazed at the mannequin wearing a long black dress.

Ren looked over her shoulder and caught Remus' eye as he walked to towards her. Throwing him a grin, she turned away from him and dashed through the shop door.

"You alright in there Ren?" Remus called out. He was sitting on a rather stiff chaise lounge sofa in the comely dressing room of a dress shop in London.

Ren was currently behind a white changing screen, trying on a dress she had spotted in the shop window. Remus hadn't really got a good look at the dress seeing as he had been trying to catch up with Ren when she dashed into the shop.

So here he was, waiting next to a man who looked to be in his late twenties, who had been dragged into the changing room, a number of minutes after Remus had sat down, by a formidable looking woman who must have been his Mother.

From the way the man was slumped in his seat and from the considerable amount of shopping bags at his feet, Remus guessed that the man had been dragged all around London by the woman.

"Yeah, I'll be out in a minute." Ren called back.

Remus didn't know what to expect. Ren could walk out from behind that screen wearing a bin bag and she would still look radiant.

From the quick glance on the way in, Remus had seen that the dress had been very simple. Just plain black. No patterns, no frills, no lace. Very simple, but very beautiful.

A small cough brought Remus back to reality. He looked up and almost choked on his own spit.

This seemed to be happening a lot lately whenever he was with the brunette.

Ren was standing there in a long, slim fitting dress that fell to her feet in gentle waves. The strapless bodice clung to her chest, which was emphasised by a sweetheart neckline. Up the left side of the dress was a slit that revealed a long, slim leg and one of the black peep-toe heels she was wearing on her feet.

"So? What do you think?" She asked in a tentative voice as she glanced over herself in the floor to ceiling mirror behind Remus.

Remus found he was incapable of speech. He just nodded quickly. However, the fact that Ren was obviously unaware of how beautiful she was made his voice return.

He felt the need to assure her of how gorgeous she looked.

"You look… breathtaking." He said, not bothering to stutter or blush. Her eyes found his and she grinned.

"I'll take your word for it." Remus smiled back at her. "Right, I'll go and get changed and then we can get some lunch, okay?"

When Remus nodded, she disappeared behind her screen once more. When she was out of sight, the man next to Remus let out a long, low whistle.

"Jesus Christ, where did you find her?" He asked in awe, but before Remus could tell him that they were just friends, the man's Mother appeared from behind her screen wearing a salmon pink party dress.

Remus turned away sharply and kept his head down as the woman interrogated her son for his opinion.

He just sat there with the image of Ren in his head.

* * *

"What about this place?" Ren asked, pointing to a small building.

It was pale yellow and had a white sign with the words _'Café Brambles' _in black italics above the door.

There were plastic tables and chairs placed around the entrance, all of which were taken up by people who sheltering from the sun under the blue table umbrellas.

Remus nodded and the two of them headed towards the pleasant little café. Remus reached the door first and held it open for Ren, who beamed at him as she walked through.

The large room they now stood in was filled with tables and chairs of all sizes, however they were all full.

Before either of them could say anything, a plump woman with strawberry blonde hair appeared next to them.

"Don't worry dears, we've just opened upstairs. There are plenty of seats up there." She said, pointing to a wooden spiral staircase in the corner of the room. "Follow me."

They climbed the stairs and entered a room that was pretty much identical to the one below them. The woman was now walking towards a set of French doors that stood open.

The two teenagers proceeded through them and found themselves standing on a large sundeck.

It had a number of tables and chairs dotted around, much like the ones outside the entrance of the café, all with dark blue umbrellas, white table cloths, a glass ashtray and a salt and pepper shaker.

The woman led them to one of the tables. It was right on the edge of the deck, and had a spectacular view of part Clapham Common.

Remus and Ren sat down either side of the table, and then they each took a menu from the woman. "Would you like some drinks?" she asked kindly.

"Yes please, I'll have a coke. Would you like one Remus?" Ren asked, to which he nodded. "Two cokes then please." Ren told the woman, who smiled.

"Okay, I'll be back shortly." She said before disappearing through the door.

Remus opened his menu and started scanning the long list. Ren did the same, but the moment she saw fish and chips, she closed it and placed it on the table. Remus raised an eyebrow.

"That was quick." He said.

"You can't beat fish and chips." Ren said, shrugging her shoulders. Remus grinned at her and Ren saw that he had little dimples.

"I think I'll agree with you on that one." He said, closing his menu and placing it on top of Ren's.

"Thanks again for coming with me today. I've had a brilliant time." Ren said, resting her elbows on the tables. Remus gave her another smile.

"No, thank you for bringing me out. It gave me a brilliant excuse to abandon my Potions essay." He said, causing Ren to chuckle quietly.

"Were you having trouble with it? Because if you were I could help you out if you wanted." She said before she could stop herself. Even though she was good at potions, she just wanted to spend more time with him.

'_You don't like him like that Ren! Remember Will?'_

"Are you sure? It's N.E.W.T level work on the Draught of Peace."

"Oh, we did that last year at Durmstrang. I'll be able to help." She told him, smiling.

"Thank you so much, I'm not that bad at potions but I just can't grasp this." He said, smiling back at her.

"I'd be happy to help." She said as the waitress bustled through the open doors, carrying a tray with two tall glasses of coke perched on top of it. She traipsed over to them and placed a glass in front of each of them.

They both uttered a word of thanks as the woman removed a notepad and pen from her apron and turned to Ren.

"What would you like to eat then dear?"

"Can I have the fish and chips please?" Ren asked. The woman nodded and scribbled down the order before turning to Remus.

"I'll have the same please." Remus said. The woman wrote down his order, told them it wouldn't be too long, and then walked off. "So are you good at potions then?" Remus asked Ren, taking a small sip from his glass, trying to avoid a coke and ice spillage.

"Yeah, I think so." She said, doing the same as Remus but less successfully. Cool liquid dropped down her front, making her jump slightly and start to laugh.

She placed the drink down and started dabbing her chest with the plaid shirt that she had placed on her lap.

Remus tried to hide his chuckle, but failed miserably. When their laughter had died down, Remus spoke again.

"If you don't mind me asking, what did you get in your O.W.L's?"

"Course I don't mind," She paused "I got an O in Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Potions, Defence against the Dark Arts and Astronomy. Then I got an E in everything else." She told him.

Ren watched as Remus' eyes widened in surprise.

"Wow! Even in History of Magic?" He asked. She nodded.

"What about you?"

"I got an O in everything except Potions, History of Magic and Divination," Ren gaped at him. "I got an A in the first two and a P in Divination." He added, his gaze avoiding hers.

"Well Divination is a load of dragon shit in my opinion." Ren said. Remus' eyes shot up and made contact with hers.

"Isn't it? I have no idea why I even took it!" Remus said, indignantly. Ren laughed.

"My Dad said he's throw a crystal ball at me if I took it." She told him, causing Remus to burst out laughing.

"Seriously?" He managed to choke out through the laughter.

"Oh yeah. And I'm pretty sure I would have 'accidentally' been locked in a dragon pen the next time I was at the reserve." Remus was now clutching his side as he laughed.

He eventually managed to calm down when the waitress appeared with their food. Conversation flowed easily between the two as they ate.

They started to take it in turn asking each other questions, and by the time they had finished eating, they knew each others favourite subjects (Ren's was Care of Magical Creatures, and Remus' Defence Against the Dark Arts), favourite colour (Ren's yellow and Remus' navy blue), favourite animal (owl for Ren, and wolf for Remus) and whether either of them had any tattoos (Neither of them did, but Ren wanted one),

As the game proceeded, the questions (Ren's in particular) got more daring.

They included how old they had been when they lost their virginity (Ren had lost hers on her sixteenth birthday and Remus' simply when he was sixteen), and whether either of them had ever had a sex dream about a member of the royal family (both no, but Ren thought that Remus seemed rather shifty when he denied).

Somehow, the conversation managed to drift back to Remus' potions essay.

"So when would you like me to help you?" Ren asked.

"With what?" Remus said, confused.

"Your essay, fool!" She mocked, with a playful punch to the arm.

"Oh right, well I'd like to get it done as soon as possible, but whenever's good for you."

"What about now?"

"Now? Sure, if you want. But we'd have to go," he paused. "Back to mine, if that's alright?" He added, tentatively.

"That's cool, I'm done shopping." Ren said, nodded towards the shopping bag that lay at her feet.

"Okay, let's go and pay then." Remus said, still rather quietly.

"Okay." Ren said cheerfully. She drained the last few drops of her drink before the two of them rose from their chairs, collected their things and headed downstairs to pay.

* * *

All was quiet on Maple Drive. The tall terraced houses stood towering above the young trees that decorated the pathment, each of which were protected by a fence around the thin tree trunk.

A number of the houses had a car parked outside of it, and there was a large green directly opposite the street.

On account for the sun blazing down from the sky, said green was full of people. Some were having picnics with their families, others reclining on the grass in the hopes of catching a suntan, and even a group of youths playing with a yellow frisbee.

The appearance of two teenagers from around the street corner went unnoticed by everyone on the green.

Ren and Remus walked in unison with each other. Despite the fact that it would have been wiser to save their breath seeing as the heat was absorbing almost all of their energy, the two of them still managed to hold a conversation.

"Merlin, the sun is taking no prisoners today! I'm sweating like a pregnant nun!" Ren exclaimed without thinking, fanning herself with her hand.

Remus burst out laughing, as Ren realised what she had just said. "Oh my God, if my mum had heard me say that she would have my head on a pike! Not ladylike at all!"

She was now laughing along with Remus.

"Don't worry, I've heard worse." Remus said, looking down to her. "Anyway, we're here now." He added, pointing to one of the houses.

Ren's gaze fell on the house he was indicating to. It was pretty much identical to the others but there were a number of little things that set it apart.

For instance, at the top of the steps that led to the large front door were a number of potted plants.

On both the left and right side of the door was a big pot which had brightly coloured flowers pouring from it. Dotted around the large pots were a couple of smaller pots, each with green bushy plants in them.

The front door itself was painted a gleaming jet black. There was a silver number sixteen directly above a silver letter box, and a few inches above the number sixteen was a silver, ornamental door knocker.

Remus opened a small black gate and held it open for Ren. She walked through it, thanking Remus as she did so, and ascended the steps.

Remus followed and removed a muggle key from the pocket of his jeans. He unlocked the door and pushed it open, stepping back so Ren could enter first. "After you." He said politely.

Ren grinned and stepped through the doorway and into the foyer.

Her eyes met a large wooden staircase that headed straight upwards, leading up to a landing. She looked around the foyer and saw that on either side of her, there was an archway. The right leading to a quaint sitting room, and the left a modest dining room.

Next to the staircase there was a small door which Ren guessed led to a closet or a small toilet.

The walls were painted a warm cream and were adorned in photographs. Both wizarding and muggle. They reminded Ren of the photos hanging off the wall in the hallway above her parent's pub.

The floor was tiled in a beautiful Spanish pattern which Ren thought added an interesting flare to the room.

Remus had joined her and was now facing her. "Would you like anything to drink before we start?"

"Some water would be fine, thanks." Ren answered with a smile.

"Sure, follow me." Remus said. He turned and walked through the archway that led to the dining room. Ren followed and saw that the dining room led through to a large kitchen.

Ren watched as Remus extracted a glass jug from the fridge, placed it on a wooden counter, and turned to collect two glasses from an overhead cabinet.

He poured the chilled water into each glass and handed one to Ren which she took.

"Thanks." She said before taking a grateful gulp. The cold liquid trickled down her throat and cooled her insides instantly. Remus did the same and then turned to Ren.

"Alright?" He asked. When she nodded he motioned for her to follow him once more. They walked back through the dining room, into the hall, and then began to climb the stairs.

When they reached the upper landing, Ren saw a long hallway ahead of them which was painted and decorated much like the foyer bellow them. At the end of the hall was a floor to ceiling window, and there were two doors on each side of the hall.

Remus led Ren to the furthest door on the left side and opened it. He took a step back and Ren moved inside.

It was nice and simple. She took in the low bed, the crowded book shelf, and the wooden desk which Ren noticed had a mess of papers sitting atop of it.

"Is this what you have so far?" Ren asked, gesturing to the papers. Remus nodded.

She moved closer, picked them up and read them. Although there was little less then a page written down, Ren could see just how detailed it was. She could tell just how seriously Remus took his studies.

"I'm impressed." She told him, turning around to face the boy who was now leaning against the door frame. He grinned at her.

"I just have no idea where to go through there. My brains blank." He said, moving to stand next to her.

"Well, I'm sure we can refresh your memory. Come on, grab a quill."

* * *

Two hours and thirty seven minutes later, Remus placed his quill down on the desk and turned to face Ren who was perched on a stool next to him.

He couldn't get over the amount of knowledge the brunette held in her head.

While they had been working together, she would suggest things that Remus would never have thought to put in the essay, but when they had been explained, it seemed ridiculous not to put them in there.

He looked over and the pages of parchment and let out a sigh of relief.

"Honestly Ren, I don't think I would have been able to do that without you." He told her, to which she just chuckled and rose from the stool.

"Oh I'm sure you would of. It may have taken longer, but you would have got there in the end. Even if it killed you." She replied while grinning.

Remus watched her as she stretched her arms above her head and couldn't help but admire her long legs.

She was certainly tall. Taller then most girls, but not as tall as Remus, Sirius or James (Peter? Yes).

However she wasn't lanky or gawky in anyway. Quite the opposite in fact, she was lean and graceful. Remus watched as she travelled the length of the room and looked out the window. Or at least trying to, seeing as the bed was in the way.

Remus moved next to her. They stood in silence for about a minute overlooking the large back garden.

"Thank you Remus." Ren said suddenly, not drawing her gaze from the garden.

Remus furrowed his brow.

"For what?" He asked, turning to her. He admired her profile, which was truly breathtaking with the setting sun playing on her features. She looked like a painting brought to life.

"For being my friend." She said simply, still not looking his way.

"Your friend?" He asked, rather taken aback. Why wouldn't he be her friend? And why did she feel the need to thank him?

"Yeah, I didn't have many in Sweden. I did when I was with Will-" Remus frowned. She had told him about her ex-boyfriend and the mere thought of him made Remus' blood boil. "-but when he left, so did the friends."

"I wouldn't call them friends if they left you like that." Remus said before he could stop himself. Ren just chuckled slightly.

"Yeah, I guess not. The only person who I could call a friend was this guy, Dylan." She said. "He worked on Dad's reserve. Even though he was three years older then me, he didn't treat me like a child, which I guess I liked." She added quietly.

Remus felt a knot develop in the pit of his stomach at the mention of this mystery man.

"Do you miss him?" Remus asked.

"Of course." The knot tightened. "He and his friend Patrick treated me like a princess." The knot was now becoming uncomfortable. "His girlfriend Clara was lovely to me as well." She added.

The knot undid itself and Remus almost let out a sigh of relief. He knew that Ren must have known other boys, but he still would have felt incredibly jealous if Ren held romantic feelings for this Dylan.

Ren suddenly turned to Remus. Their faces were close, closer then normal. Remus could feel her hot breath on his face.

He considered taking a step back, however Ren spoke again.

"You'll always be my friend right?" She asked in almost a whisper. Remus nodded, unable to formulate a sentence.

He was captivated by her. Her dark eyes, her high cheekbones, her slight button nose, her full, defined lips. Every small detail of her face was perfect, and framed by the brown curls which had came loose from her plait.

"Then I think I can do this without risking anything." Her voice barely audible.

Before Remus could ask what she meant, her full lips met his and she kissed him.

Remus just stood there, hunched over slightly, momentarily stunned. It wasn't as if he hadn't kissed anyone before, he just hadn't kissed anyone as beautiful as Ren before.

He suddenly came to his senses and kissed her back. When he did so, Ren wrapped her arms around Remus' neck, pulling him closer.

They were now pressed against each other, so after summoning some of his Gryffindor courage, Remus placed his hands on her hips, and ran his tongue against his bottom lip.

She opened her mouth and Remus felt his tongue enter and begin to explore the hot crevice.

It truly was an amazing kiss. Remus wondered how Ren had come to be such a great kisser. Had she learnt on the job or was she just a natural?

Remus couldn't help but move his hands to cup her bum. It was possibly the most perfect thing Remus had ever rested his hands upon. Round, perky and plump, he couldn't quite believe how lucky he was to have his hands on it.

After a while, Ren pulled away and took a breath. She looked Remus in the eye and he saw a shadow of doubt creep up in her dark orbs.

"What? What's wrong? Was it me?" Remus asked hastily.

"No! You were-" She let out a sigh. "-brilliant. I just…"

"You just what?" Remus asked tentatively.

"I… I don't know if I'm ready to go through this again." She said quietly, looking at her feet.

"Ren, don't worry. I won't hurt you." Remus said, brushing her cheek with his hand. She looked up at him and sighed again.

"It's not me getting hurt that worries me. I don't want to freak out and end up hurting you." She told him. Remus thought for a minute.

"We… we don't HAVE to do the whole 'relationship' thing." Ren raised an eyebrow. "We could just be friends who kiss." He added. Remus watched Ren and she thought over the idea.

"Yeah… I can live with that." She said quickly before throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him once more.

**Sorry this Chapter took kinda long, what with Christmas, New Year, and school I haven't really found the time to write anything -.- Anyway, please review! It would make me a very happy girl!**

**Evie x**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello everyone :) Chapter 4's nice and long for you. I just want to say thanks to everyone who has read the fic, but I am a tiny bit disappointed with the lack of response in terms of reviews. It would just be nice to hear if you like what you're reading, or even have some constructive criticism. I'm not trying to beg for reviews, I'm just saying... Well don't I sound like a whiney little bitch?**

**Anywho, once again I have no BETA, so I apologize for any mistakes.**

**Disclaimer: I own nada**

Perfectly Content  
_Chapter 4_

"Bollocks!" Sirius exclaimed to himself as he dropped the bulky trunk and let it topple down the remaining steps.

Why the fuck had he put wand in that bloody thing? He could have just levitated it down the stairs instead of hauling it down two flights of stairs, which resulted in him dropping the heavy trunk on his right foot.

Sirius sighed and bounded after his trunk. He found it lying at the stairs and thankfully, it had remained closed.

He heaved it upright; thanking the God's that it hadn't burst open. It had been quite the struggled getting it to close around his clothes and schoolbooks.

Not to mention his possessions that would normally remain at home, but seeing as he wasn't welcome there Sirius wasn't going to leave them behind only for them to be destroyed.

He dragged the trunk over to the bar and took a seat on a barstool, propping the case against the bar next to him.

Upon seeing him arrive the landlady, Elsa, moved swiftly over to him. Sirius braced himself.

"Leaving so soon Sirius?" She asked, huskily.

Sirius looked her over. If she had be about twenty years younger she wouldn't have been bad looking. She had thin blonde hair which had a strange grey tint to it, pulled back into a loose ponytail. Her face was lined which made her look older then her actual age of forty.

The thought of that night three weeks ago still made Sirius shudder slightly. He was just desperate for a place to stay!

Still she was a woman, and all women must be charmed by Sirius Black… No matter how old they are.

"I'm afraid so Elsa. I feel bad that your delightful room isn't earning you any money." Sirius said with a slight smirk. Elsa just chuckled, displaying her pointy teeth in the process.

"Oh Sirius, you're welcome in that room for as long as you want." She said, reaching out a bony hand with long red fingernails, and rubbing his arm.

Sirius held back a quiver and managed to smile back.

"No, no it's fine really. I'll be staying at my mates." When he had said this, Elsa had obviously realised that another night with Sirius was off the cards seeing as he was no longer desperate for accommodation.

Just as Elsa was about to open her mouth to speak once more, there was a tinkle from the bell that hung above the door leading into London.

Elsa turned to see who was entering her tavern, retracting her hand in the process.

Sirius wheeled around to find out who his saviour was, and a smirk played on his lips when he realised who it was.

Ren (or as Sirius liked to refer to her; Little Miss Cock-Tease) was sauntering through the Leaky Cauldron carrying a large shopping bag in one hand, and the plaid shirt she had been wearing earlier in the other.

She had taken her curls out of the plait and they now fell gracefully down her back, while the sunglasses propped on her head kept it from falling into her face.

'_How the fuck did Moony manage to get this girl alone?' _Sirius wondered to himself.

She passed the bar, not even noticing Sirius, and headed towards the door leading to Diagon Ally. Before you could say Quidditch, Sirius had risen from his seat hastily.

"Elsa, can you watch my trunk please? I'll be back in a bit." The witch nodded, drew her wand from her dress pocket and levitated it over the bar. "And if I don't see him, can you tell Tom I'll see him around?" Elsa nodded once more.

Sirius bolted for the door and staggered through it, colliding with Ren who, by the looks of it, was about to start tapping the bricks with her wand.

"Careful! You'll do yourself an injury!" She said, spinning round to face Sirius.

She didn't seem to recognize him, much to Sirius' irritation. He straightened up.

"Sorry about that- wait, aren't you the girl from the Dozing Dragon? Remus' friend?" He asked. His acting skills really were top notch, he deserved an award.

"Oh, yeah I… Wait, I remember you! You're Sirius! Hi, how're you?" She said, giving him a warm smile.

"Better now I've seen you." He said with a smirk. Ren just stared blankly at him.

"That… was possibly, the cheesiest thing I've heard Remus told me you were good with women. That was rather dismal." She said with a sceptical look.

Now it was Sirius' turn to stare.

Most girls loved that line! It would make them blush and giggle, but not even a tint of colour came to Ren's cheeks. He was going to have to step it up a notch.

"Oh I am, trust me. Maybe we could find somewhere quiet and I can show you how good I am." He said in a deep, husky tone, taking a step towards her as he did so.

She didn't even flinch.

Padfoot would have been able to smell the scent of passion coming from any other girl, but right now his canine senses couldn't even pick up a whiff of excitement, let alone passion.

He could only make out the beautiful scent of rich, sweet vanilla. It was warm and creamy, and Sirius found it to be a calming, consoling and soothing aroma.

"Or," She began, raising an eyebrow. "You could walk me back to the pub and in that time come up with an apology for that humorous comment."

"Sure, I'll take that." Sirius said quickly. Ren turned and started tapping the bricks. Moments later, Diagon Ally appeared before the two of them. They began to walk side by side down the street.

"So, been up to much today?" Sirius asked, knowing all two well that she spent the day with Remus."

"Yeah, actually I have. I went shopping in London with Remus." She said casually.

"Oh yeah? Get anything nice?" He was rather intrigued to find out what was in that shopping back. He felt curiosity over take him as he wondered what Remus would recommend for a girl, if Ren did ask for his opinion of course.

"Just a dress for this show thing my Mum's putting on." She told him.

"Can I see?" Ren shook her head.

"I'm afraid not. You'll have to wait." She said. "Anyway, what about you? Been up to much?"

"Not much really. I worked on my bike a bit, then went up to James' and had lunch with him." Sirius answered. He looked at Ren and saw that she now had a curious look on her face.

"Bike? As in motorbike?" She asked, to which he nodded.

"Why?"

"No reason really, it just reminded me of this lovely Triumph I saw outside the Leaky this morning." She said with a dreamy expression on her face.

Sirius turned to her sharply.

"Outside the Leaky you say?"

"Yeah, it was gorgeous. Why?"

"That happens to be my bike." Sirius told her, his tone verging on smug. Ren gawked at him.

"Seriously? How the fuck did you manage to get that?" She asked, almost indignantly. Sirius let out a bark of laughter.

"Got her cheap. Eight hundred and twenty five in Muggle money, and a packet of fags." He told her, to which Ren raised her brows in shock.

"Merlin, well done." She said. "Speaking of fags, do you mind if I have one?" She asked him. Sirius shook his head in answer.

"You smoke?" He would never have labelled her as a smoker, but now he watched as she pulled a cigarette from a packet, placed it between her lips, flipped open an old, battered, brass Zippo lighter and lit the cigarette.

She inhaled and then blew out the smoke, her eyes closed and a look on bliss on her face.

"Uh-huh. I'm trying to but down but right now there's as much chance as that happening as the Chudley Cannons winning the league." She said, taking another drag. "Why? Does it bother you? I'll put it out if it does."

"Not at all, in fact-" he extracted his own packet of cigarettes and removed one from the box. "-I fancy one myself." He said, grinning, and placed the cigarette in his mouth.

He pulled a cheap blue lighter from his pocket. After flicking it about eight times in attempt to light it, Ren held her Zippo out to him, already lit. He turned to her, fag still in mouth.

"What? It was like watching a silent movie with sound." She said, and Sirius chuckled, lighting his cigarette from the flame.

About ten minutes later the two of them were standing outside Gambol and Japes, finishing their cigarettes and speaking mostly of Sirius' bike.

"You're welcome to come for a ride anytime." Sirius said, stubbing out his cigarette. Ren grinned at him.

"I'd love to! I'd love a bike of my own but Mum would hardly be pleased with me." She said. "Well Sirius, this has been lovely but I had better get going. My shift started-" She looked the small watch that adored her wrist. "-ten minutes ago."

Sirius laughed again.

"I'll let you go then, but we should meet again." He knew it would take more then a few choice words to get Ren into bed, but he liked a challenge.

"Sounds good. Hey, come to that show on Saturday. Remus is coming too."

"I'll be there, but I meant just you and me…" He said slowly. Ren raised an eyebrow.

"Well as long as there are no more cheesy pick-up lines, I suppose we could." She said smirking. Sirius laughed.

"Fine, no pick-up lines," He said. "But you have to wear those shorts again." He was almost teasing her, but she just smiled at him.

"Deal." She said with a wink. "I'll owl you." She then turned and headed for the Dozing Dragon which was situated a little further down the ally.

She glanced back and Sirius gave her a wave.

'_Looks like I'm one step closer to fucking her.'_ Sirius thought to himself as he started walking back towards the Leaky Cauldron.

* * *

Ren darted swiftly through the pub and pushed open the door marked _'STAFF ONLY'_. She headed through it and looked around the small room which had a door leading off to the kitchen, and another to the bar.

So far there had been no sign of any of her family, much to her relief. Now all she had to do was get through the kitchen, up the stairs, down the hall and up to the attic.

If she bumped into her Mum she would be forced to try on the new dress so Violet could give it her approval, and she wasn't in the mood for that.

If she bumped into her Dad she would have to explain she was late, and Ren could hardly seeing her Father being pleased with the serious snogging session she had had with Remus, or the cigarette with Sirius while turning down his offer of 'seeing how good he was with women'.

She would probably have to explain that to her Mum as well. Ren couldn't see that going well.

If she bumped into Vanessa she would have to endure her stupid rants and taunts about clothes and boys. Or the snide comments about Ren's hair or style.

This would most likely encourage to Ren to punch Vanessa right in her orange face, and Ren couldn't see that going down well.

And bumping into Ollie would mean she would have to listen to his adventures of the day, and probably end up joining in with one of his games just so he would stop bugging her.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door and walked into the kitchen.

However upon entering the room, she found her whole family standing together, bickering. Well Vanessa bickering with her parents while Ollie just stood there in a daze.

None of them seemed to notice her immediately so she turned and slowly tried to leave, but Ollie noticed her and made her presence known by shouting out her name.

Ren stopped with a jolt. _'Damn.'_ She thought. Turning back to her family, she saw that all eyes were now on her.

"Hey." She said.

"Hi Ren, have a nice day?" Emmett asked. _'Maybe they've been so busy arguing to notice that I was late.' _Ren thought to herself.

"Yeah, brilliant thanks." She said, smiling.

"Did you get your dress?" Violet asked eagerly. But before Ren could answer, Vanessa let out an indignant snort.

"So she gets to go shopping in _London_-" Vanessa put particular emphasis on that word. "- with some boy that neither of you even know, and I'm not even allowed to leave the ally?! How is that far?!" She yelled, turning pink in fury.

"For the love of Merlin, Nessa! You're fifteen! We're not about to let you go wondering off on your own." Violet said, sounding exasperated.

It was clear that this was not the first time she had explained this to her youngest daughter.

Still the blonde wasn't going to give up so easily.

"Mum, I can do stuff on my own! I don't need someone to look after me all the time! I'm perfectly responsible, unlike her!" Vanessa squawked, pointing at Ren.

Ren, who had perched on a counter and had helped herself to an apple, looked from Vanessa to her Mother and did a double take, only just registering that she had been brought into the argument.

"Me? How am I irresponsible?" Ren asked, completely bewildered by this sudden accusation. Vanessa smirked slyly.

"YOU were meant to be back here fifteen minutes ago for your shift." She said furtively.

"Why Vanessa, I had no idea that you held such an interest in me-"

"That's a good point, why were you late? You promised you'd be back on time." Emmett interrupted. Vanessa looked triumphant.

"I saw Sirius and we just had a chat." Ren said. Her Dad didn't need to know about the smoking.

"Sirius? The handsome one?" Violet suddenly asked. Ren sighed at her Mother's bluntness.

"Yes Mother, the handsome one."

"But I thought you spent the day with Remus." Violet said, confused.

'_There's really no point in lying… I can just leave out some minor details.'_

"I did, but I met Sirius in the Leaky on the way back." She said, shrugging.

"Oh, is he well?" Her Mother asked. She seemed perfectly happy with Ren seeing two boys in one day. She probably thought it would increase Ren's chances of getting a boyfriend.

Emmett however looked rather suspicious, but his expression returned to normal when his wife had no problem with the situation.

"Yeah he's fine. Right, I'll go and put my bag upstairs then come back down and get some work done." Ren said, rather meekly.

In all honesty, all Ren wanted to do was collapse onto her mattress and snooze the day away.

Her Dad mumbled his approval and headed back to the bar. Ollie followed him. _'He probably broke something else.'_ Ren thought to herself.

"You can show me your dress later." Violet said to Ren before following her husband, leaving the two sisters alone.

Ren walked to the staircase, intent on avoiding all conversation, but Vanessa had other ideas.

"How the fuck did you get away with that?" She asked bitterly. Ren closed her eyes for a couple of seconds, then turned to her sister.

"Get away with what?"

"That! If I went out with some boy all day then got back late because I was with a different boy, I would have gotten so much shit! Plus you got a new dress!"

Vanessa looked close to tears by the time she had finished.

"Look, Ness-" Ren began.

"Don't call me that." Ren furrowed her brow.

"Call you what?" She asked.

"Ness. It's childish. My name is Vanessa." The blonde said, flicking her hair over her shoulder. Ren stared at her.

"… Right." She said slowly. "As I was trying to say; I'm really not in the mood to argue with you, so I'm going to leave like a responsible adult before this turns nasty." She said. "See you later, Ness." She added and darted up the stairs.

Ren couldn't help but chuckled when she heard Vanessa yell something inaudible after her.

* * *

Remus had been staring at his bedroom ceiling for the last fifteen minutes.

He was lying on his bed, trying to get over the fact that he had just shared numerous passionate kisses with Ren.

'_It's called snogging, you idiot.'_ He thought to himself. He hated that word. It sounded so sloppy and messy.

Still, he couldn't quite believe it.

Ren! Ren had been kissing him! A gorgeous girl had started to kiss him!

But then Remus thought of how she freaked out halfway through, saying she didn't want to hurt him. That had surprised him, but he could understand why she would be uneasy about anything related to romance after that Will.

'_The twat.' _Remus thought.

He certainly had feelings for Ren, but he didn't think they were quite romantic. He didn't know what they were.

However, now he knew that Ren shared the same, complicated feelings, so he promised her that there would be no strings attached to the kiss.

Remus thought over the new 'agreement' between him and Ren. He was astounded that he had thought of something so… Sirius-like. Let alone suggest it. But to his great surprise, Ren had agreed.

_The kissing had eventually subsided and Ren and Remus now lay on Remus' bed, her head on his chest._

"_So… does this make us, like-" She paused. "Friends with benefits? Or something like that?" She lifted her head from his chest and looked at him. Remus looked down at her._

"_Well, yeah. I guess so. But don't friends with benefits normally have… you know." He trailed off, and was sure Ren could feel him tense beneath her._

"_Sex?" She asked, casually. Her abruptness made Remus smile._

"_Yes, Ren. Sex." He said. Ren seemed to ponder something for a minute or so. _

"_And other stuff?" She asked. Remus continued to look down at her, her chocolate eyes were completely serious. Remus managed to nod. "Well?" She asked._

"_Well what?" Remus questioned._

"_Would you want to have sex with me?"_

_Remus gawped at her, which made her smile._

"_What, now?" He asked before he could stop himself. Ren just chuckled and sat up._

"_No, not now Remus. We'll just go over the rules for now." She said. Remus bolted upright and sat to attention._

"_Right, rules." He said quickly._

"_Firstly, there will be no romantic feelings involved, just casual sex." She said, sounding like a business woman. No messing around._

"_Right, no strings attached." Remus agreed._

"_Secondly, I'd rather we tell no one."_

"_Agreed." Remus said quickly. Even if she hadn't brought this up, Remus felt sure that neither of them would have told anyone._

"_And thirdly, can we call it something else? I think 'friends with benefits' is way too formal, and I hate the term 'fuck buddies'." She said. Remus laughed._

"_Okay, you got anything in mind?" He asked._

"_Umm, no." She paused and began to think. Remus did the same._

"_Sirius used to have this kind of thing going on with a girl. He called her his 'Cum Chum'." Remus told Ren, causing her to burst out laughing._

"_We're NOT using that." _

"_That's perfectly fine by me." He said. _

"_What about um-friend? As in; this is Remus, my um… friend." Ren said, giggling slightly. Remus laughed with her._

"_That's perfect." He told her._

Ren had left shortly after another session of passionate kissing, so she wasn't late for her shift.

It had now hit Remus that he had agreed to have sex with her. If she had already been at Hogwarts, Remus felt sure that practically every boy there would be envious of him.

Especially Sirius.

Just then, an elegant barn owl swooped through his window. Remus recognised it as Asta, who belonged to the Potters.

She landed gracefully on the desk and Remus walked over to her.

"Hello Asta." He said, stroking her feathers. She deposited the note in her beak into Remus' hand, and Remus opened it.

'_Moony,_

_Do you want to crash at mine tonight? Padfoot and Moony are already here, so if you do send Asta on her way back and floo over._

_Prongs.'_

Fuck it, why not? It beats spending the whole night thinking about Ren. He quickly packed his rucksack before holding his arm out for Asta who perched on his fore-arm.

He walked over to the window and she took off into the sunset. Remus then headed downstairs and into the kitchen so he could scribble a note to his parents telling them where he was.

Then he walked into the dining room and stopped in front of the large fireplace. He took a fistful of Floo power, stepping into the large hearth, and called out "Potter Manor" as he threw the powder into the pit.

In a whoosh of green flames, Remus disappeared before stumbling out into the grand sitting room of Potter Manor.

"That's it Moony, nice and graceful." Remus heard Sirius say as he stood up and brushed the ash and soot off himself.

"Very funny Padfoot." He said, grinning. Sirius was reclining on the large, brown leather sofa that stood opposite the fireplace.

He had one leg propped on his knee and looked just as cool as ever. He wore a dark blue t-shirt, and black jeans. On his large feet were his old biker boots, and his hair was just as perfect as ever.

If Remus was being honest with himself, if he had Sirius' looks he would probably hop from girl to girl and shy away from real commitment. But to be frank, he was glad he didn't.

Sirius stood and brushed the remaining soot from Remus' shoulder.

"Come on, the others are upstairs."

The two of them strolled through the beautifully decorated house, up the grand staircase and down the hall. They came to James' room and upon entering, were greeted by James who was reclining on his desk chair.

"Nice of you to join us Moony." He said, grinning at his friend. Remus laughed and moved to sit on a small, plush sofa opposite the window while Sirius collapsed on the big bed and propped himself up on the pillows.

"Where's Wormtail?" Remus asked.

"Bathroom," James said, straightening up. "But moving on, what did you do today Moony?" He asked, smiling as he tilted his head to the left slightly.

Remus raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well… a little birdie in biker boots told me that you spent the day with that Ren from the Dozing Dragon." James said casually, but Remus could see the mischievous glint in his hazel eyes.

Remus turned and glared at Sirius who had his hands resting behind his head, and was looking proud of himself.

"May I ask how you know that Padfoot?" He asked.

As Sirius was about to answer, the bedroom door opened and a small boy with wispy blonde hair and watery blue eyes, wandered in.

Peter moved over to the sofa and took a seat next to Remus.

"Hey Moony, you alright?" He asked, and Remus nodded. Peter's attention turned to Sirius. "Tell us about that girl you saw today Padfoot." He said eagerly.

Sirius smirked and closed his eyes for a moment.

"First, let Remus tell us about the girl he met up with." He said. Peter turned to Remus, obviously shocked.

"Care to explain Moony?" Remus sighed.

"Well a couple of days ago, Sirius, James and I met this girl at the Dozing Dragon. You know, that pub in Diagon Ally-"

"Correction, you met her. Sirius and I gate-crashed."

"Yeah, so this girl, Ren, owled me and asked if I wanted to go into London with her." Remus said without any elaboration. His three friends all had their eyes on him.

"And…" Peter asked slowly.

"That's it really. She got a new dress, and then we went to lunch. She offered to help me with my Potions essay, so we ended up going back to mine."

Each of the boys straightened up.

"She went back to yours?" Sirius asked. "Did you fuck?"

"No Sirius, we didn't fuck."

"Blowjob?"

"No."

"Finger?"

"No, Sirius."

"Handjob?"

"Sirius! We didn't do anything, we're just friends." Remus insisted.

"Not even kiss?" Sirius asked, obviously bewildered at the idea of spending time with a girl and not ending up in some sort of sexual situation.

Thankfully, due to his lycanthropy, Remus found it easy to act natural.

"No, we just did the essay." Sirius raised his eyebrows briefly as he turned away from Remus and returned to lying on the bed.

"Wait, what does this have to do with the bird you met today Padfoot?" Peter asked. The familiar smirk graced Sirius' lips. He stretched slightly, chuckling to himself as he did so.

"Well, it just so happens that the girl I met in the Leaky courtyard, was none other then Ren Gallagher." He said smugly.

Remus could feel his eyes widening.

'_Shit.'_ He thought. Although he felt sure Ren wouldn't fall for Sirius' tricks, the thought of the two alone still made Remus quiver slightly.

"Did you… you know?" Peter asked keenly, a look of total awe on his face. Remus cringed.

"No, I'm afraid not. She's not like the other girls Pete. She's a harder code to crack. But that won't stop me, seeing as her and Remus are just friends, right Moony?" Sirius said, glancing at Remus.

"What? Oh yeah, sure." Remus answered quickly, he was trying not to pay attention the conversation.

"Is she hot?" Peter asked.

"Hot doesn't even cover it, right Prongs?" James nodded.

"You have no idea, Wormy." He said, grinning. "If I wasn't convinced that this is my year with Evans I would definitely take a crack at her."

"Wank worthy?" Peter asked, leering. This caught Remus' attention; he turned to watch the others. James was nodding and Sirius was smirking again.

"I already have mate." He said. He looked like a cat that had got the cream.

"When?" Remus asked before he could stop himself. Sirius' eyes twinkled.

"Well, I walked her back to the Dragon and when we said goodbye, I got to watch that fantastic arse of hers as she walked away." Sirius began.

He had never looked so proud of himself. Remus glanced at Peter; the boy was eating out of Sirius' hand. "When I was walking back to the Leaky I couldn't get the image of her arse in those fucking shorts out of my head. The thoughts soon turned more… graphic"

Remus cringed once more. "By the time I got back to the Leaky it was rather uncomfortable down there." Peter and James both laughed, but Remus couldn't even muster a chuckle, so he managed a rather rigid smile.

"So I went upstairs and took care of the situation."

"Was it… good?" You could hear the admiration in Peter's voice. That boy spent way to much time listening to Sirius' sexual antics than actually having any of his own.

"Oh yeah. By the time I got up there I had this lovely little scene cooked up."

Remus didn't want to know the details, but he knew he was going to get them anyway.

"Her lips were wrapped around my cock and she was sucking within an inch of her life," Sirius started, running his fingers through his hair. "She was humming and moaning." He closed his eyes and Remus knew he was reliving his fantasy.

It astounded how easily Sirius could talk about this kind of thing.

"Did she take all of you?" Peter asked. He was practically on the edge of his seat with excitement. James had remained quiet but had the same glint in his eye as Sirius.

"All of me. My hands were in her hair, pulling her closer and she would just suck, and suck, and suck. Eventually I was just fucking her face. She loved it." Sirius said. "Plus, she swallowed every last drop of my cu-"

"OKAY, Sirius I think we've heard enough." Remus interrupted.

"Fine, fine. If you insist."

* * *

"So how long do you reckon it'll take you to get Ren?" James asked Sirius. The two of them were on the patio of the Potters large, moonlit garden.

Sirius had decided he needed a cigarette in the middle of the night and James had offered to join him, even though James himself didn't smoke.

Sirius blew out a puff of smoke, shaking his head as he did so.

"I have no fucking idea Prongs, but I'm gonna have to go about it differently. She's not as easy as the others." He said.

James laughed.

"At least you know she'll be easier then Evens." He said reassuringly. Now it was Sirius' turn to laugh.

"Let's hope so." He stubbed his cigarette out and turned to his friend.

"Prongs?" He asked.

"Yeah?" Sirius paused.

"Do you really think nothing happened between her and Remus today?" He asked. James looked at him.

"Why?" He questioned.

"Well, when I was talking about her Moony got kind of touchy." Sirius shifted his position on the wooden bench they were sitting on.

"I know, but he said it didn't bother him so he basically gave you the go ahead." James said. Sirius thought about and realised his friend was right. Whether it bothered Remus or not, he had said that Sirius was free to do whatever he wanted.

And Sirius wanted to do Ren.

"Yeah… I guess you're right." Sirius said. James rose from the bench and stretched.

"You coming in?" He asked his friend, who was now staring blankly down the garden.

"What? Oh, no. I'm gonna stay out for a little longer." Sirius said. James nodded and went back inside.

Sirius drew another cigarette from his half empty packet. He didn't normally smoke that much, but during the holidays he found had so much time on his hands that it was getting worse.

He had dumped the shitty plastic lighter and had now resorted to a box of matches.

Ingenious little Muggle inventions.

He took the small box from his pocket and extracted a match from it. He struck it and lit the cigarette that was now sticking out from his mouth, shielding the flame from the wind with his other hand.

It was weird for Sirius to have one girl on his mind. The sooner he fucked Ren, the sooner he could move on to other girls.

Not that he was going to stop sleeping with other girls on his pursuit to woo the brunette.

Having the same girl occupy his thoughts was beginning to bug Sirius. He sighed. Ren obviously wasn't just going to jump into bed with him; he was going to have to take it slow.

'_Fucking hell, is it worth it?' _He thought to himself. Actually it probably was worth it. Ren just emitted this glow that screamed "I'm good in bed!"

Plus, Sirius knew that until he did sleep with her, he wouldn't be able to get this girl out of his head.

'_Merlin, she's going to be the death of me.'_ Sirius thought.

He never put this much effort into anything, not even pranking. He needed to find out more about her, play to her likes so to speak.

He had learnt from Remus that she was smart, had good taste in music, and liked Quidditch. However Sirius knew that he was going to have to elaborate on these facts.

Exactly how smart she was and what subjects she enjoyed. What bands and artist she liked and whether she preferred Wizard or Muggle music. And what Quidditch team she supported and whether she actually played.

Yes, Sirius was pulling out all the stops to get that girl to sleep with him. However until that blessed moment, Sirius needed something else to occupy his thoughts. Something to do.

He couldn't continue working on his bike until the new part he had ordered arrived (not that there was anything wrong with it, he had just decided to give it… a magical boost, so to speak).

The boys had decided to have a night in so Sirius had some form of entertainment, but he just needed to get out. He couldn't just sit there and let his thoughts build up on him.

'_Yeah, fuck this.'_ He rose from the bench, flicked his cigarette away and marched inside.

When he walked into James' room he found Remus, Peter and James all sitting on the bed playing what looked like poker.

"Hello ladies, would any of you mind if I went from a stroll?"

Not one of them looked away from their cards.

"Sure, not yourself out Padfoot." James mumbled with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Cheers, I'll be back soon." Sirius said as he grabbed his leather jacket before walking through the door.

As he was about to pull it to, Sirius heard a moan come from Peter.

"Come on guys, why can't we just play Exploding Snap?"

Sirius chuckled as the door shut with a click. He bounded down the stairs and out the front door to where his beloved bike was parked.

He mounted it and drove off towards London arriving around forty minutes later.

Sirius slowed as he cruised the streets. Groups of women cat called to him, but Sirius never stopped. He only sent them a smirk followed by a wink.

He pulled up outside the Leaky Cauldron and dismounted his bike. Checking to see no one was watching, he waved his wand quickly, securing his bike to the spot.

Once he was satisfied with his bikes safety, he turned and entered the tavern.

Thankfully, there was no sign of Elsa. Sirius travelled swiftly through the bar and out to the courtyard. He tapped the required bricks and entered Diagon Ally.

Despite wanting to keep Ren off his mind, it couldn't hurt to go down to the Dozing Dragon for a quick drink could it?

He walked down the Ally, which unsurprisingly wasn't very busy seeing as it was well past midnight. When he reached the pub he looked up and surveyed the building, and as he did so, did a double take.

Hanging out of the arched window on the top floor was an elegant hand, nursing a cigarette.

Sirius could make out the well-shaped nails of the hand were painted a very dark blue, that verged on black, and on the slim wrist was a small silver watch.

Ren's watch. Sirius remembered seeing it when she had handed him her lighter.

So that must be Ren. Sirius stood there for a few more moments, just staring. What should he do?

Only when a drunken man bumped into Sirius' shoulder did the raven-haired boy draw his gaze from the window.

"Sorry." The stranger slurred, sparing Sirius a quick glance before he carried on walking. Sirius stared after him, and then looked back to window but to his dismay the hand had disappeared, and the window had been shut.

'_Fuck'_ Sirius thought. Now what? He contemplated his options. He could head back to James' and spend the night sat on his arse, or go into the pub and ask after Ren.

'_Hmm, three horny teenage boys or one super hot girl? Yeah, I'll take the girl.'_

Sirius walked over to the door and took hold of the handle, only to notice a white sign with _'CLOSED'_ imprinted onto it in big, black letters.

'_Seriously?' _Sirius backed away from the door and looked back up to Ren's window. Sirius pondered ways of getting Ren's attention. Suddenly, it came to him. Throw pepples at the window! Girls loved that shit.

While Sirius just thought it was a diminished version of vandalism, they seemed to think it was romantic, but whatever.

Sirius began to scan the ground in search of a number of small pepple, but alas not a pepple in sight. Only stones that would surely break the window.

Sirius huffed and plunged his hands into his pocket. He needed something small and light.

His fingers closed around the match box in his pocket.

"Fuck it." Sirius murmured. He drew the small box from his pocket and took aim. If he missed he was pretty sure the box would bounce back down to him so he could have another shot.

Sirius hurled the box at the window. It flew threw the air, hit the window and landed on the window ledge.

'_Are you fucking kidding me?'_ Sirius thought. He began to rummage through his pockets once more in search of something else to throw when the window opened and Ren appeared.

**So we have a tiny mention of some smut. Naughty Sirius ;) I hope you enjoyed reading, and I'll try and get the next chapter up sharpish.**

**Evie x**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello! So sorry that this chapter took so long to choke out! I really have no excuse other then the fact that I'm really lazy :L Nuff' said.  
Anyway, on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I own nada**

Perfectly Content  
_Chapter 5_

Ren stared down at the boy from her window. Even in the dim glow of the street lights she could tell exactly who it was. Sirius Black.

"Hey Ren." He called up to her. She placed her hands on the ledge and leant forward slightly.

She was about to open her mouth so she could ask him what the fuck he was doing here, when her fingers brushed against something small and square. She looked down and saw a small, blue box. She picked it up and on further examination, saw it was a match box.

"Did you throw a match box at my window?"

"I couldn't find any pebbles." He said, shrugging his shoulders.

"So you threw a match box in the hopes of getting my attention?" She asked incredulously.

"It worked didn't it?"

"…Touché." Ren said upon realising he was right. Sirius just smirked. "Anyway, what are you doing here?" She asked, trying to change the subject.

"I said we should meet up again. You seemed all for the idea earlier." Sirius called up to her.

"Yeah, but I meant at a reasonable hour!" Ren said. Sirius continued to smirk at her.

"I was thinking we could go for that bike ride." He said, taking a step back.

Ren would have loved nothing more then to go cruising around London on a beautiful bike, but she had no chance of getting out. "So? What do you say?" Sirius asked.

"If I could get out, then I would."

"Why can't you get out?" Sirius questioned, puzzled. Ren huffed.

"Because the doors locked." She said. Sirius' brow knitted together.

"You know you're a witch right?" He asked. Ren couldn't help but smile.

"As it happens, I do know that. However a simple Alohamora charm won't just open that door, it will also set of the alarm my parents set on it." Ren told him. She saw a look of realisation dawn Sirius' features.

"Right… well, you could," He paused. "Jump from the window?" He suggested. Ren raised an eyebrow.

"I'd catch you." Sirius added feebly, in an attempt to persuade her. However when Ren folded her arms across her chest, he seemed to realise that she wasn't going to jump out of a fucking window.

"No? Okay, well you could…" He stepped back again, obviously trying to think of a way in which Ren could escape.

Ren watched his eyes scan the building and settle on the flower trellis. The one on the right side of the window was about two feet from the edge of the window ledge.

The same idea seemed to hit the two teenagers at the same time. Ren looked from Sirius to the trellis. The old wood didn't look particularly strong.

"Well?" Sirius called up to her, raising his dark eyebrows. Ren turned back to him, looking slightly dazed.

"Seriously?" You think I'm capable of climbing down-" She looked at the trellis and gestured to it. "-That?!" She asked in complete disbelief.

Sirius merely shrugged.

"It's either that or jumping." He said. After a long pause, Ren spoke again.

"Give me five minutes." She saw Sirius grin at her before she turned and went to change into something a little more suitable for riding around London on a motorbike.

Ren looked around her room, from where she stood; she was directly opposite the staircase which descended into the hallway below. When she had discovered that there was an attic room in the pub, she had called it faster than you could say Quidditch.

Each of the four walls had been painted a beautiful shade of Cerulean blue, but the wall which her mattress (she had chose to get rid of the actual bed frame) lay against had a large yellow sunflower painted on it.

The mattress below the sunflower was had numerous, mismatched pillows and had an old patchwork quilt draped over it. Next to the mattress was a full length mirror propped against the wall which had a black bra draped off the top right corner.

Opposite the Sunflower wall, as Ren called it, was a large wardrobe and next to that a desk and chair.

On said desk was a silver owl cage which was home to her Great Grey Owl, Spinx, and a notice board hung above it. However instead of having notices pinned to it, Ren had pinned a vast array of drawings and photographs, both Wizarding and Muggle.

There were other personal items dotted around the room including a guitar, some books lined up against the stair barrier and a dream catcher hanging near the window.

Ren swiftly crossed the room and opened her wardrobe. She extracted a pair of black of jeans and a black polo t-shirt that had a tiny wasp stitched onto the left side.

It was her favourite Wimbourne Wasps top. Dylan had given it to her on her seventeenth birthday.

She removed her loose pyjama bottoms and top before putting on the jeans and top. Then she grabbed her black ankle boots and pulled them on. Even with the chunky two inch heel, they were incredibly comfy.

She scanned herself in the mirror before heading back towards the window, grabbing her leather jacket and small satchel that contained her cigarettes, lighter, wand and a number of other objects as she did.

Sirius was now leaning against the building opposite the pub with a cigarette in his mouth.

"Oi, Fonzy, I'm ready." Ren called down. He looked up to her and grinned.

"You coming down?"

"Yeah, give me a minute." Ren said, pulling her hair back into a pony-tail. She pulled a cigarette out of her packet and lit it. "If I fall and you don't catch me, I'll kill you." She said to Sirius. He just laughed.

Ren placed the cigarette between her lips and then climbed out onto the ledge. She just sat there for a moment, her legs dangling.

'_Why the fuck am I doing this?'_ She thought to herself.

After shuffling to the edge of the ledge, she reached out her right hand and grabbed the trellis and then swung her right foot onto it, pressing down as to test the sturdiness.

She then brought her left hand to it and, after saying a quick prayer, swung her left leg onto the trellis. She remained still for a number of seconds, her eyes clenched shut, waiting for the trellis to brake and send her tumbling to her death.

But the fall never came.

Ren removed a hand from the trellis and removed the cigarette from her mouth, breathing out the smoke in relief.

Then, with cigarette still between her fingers, she began to descend the flower covered trellis.

After every few steps, she would pause so she could check how far she was from the ground, and take a drag from her cigarette. Sirius was now standing at the bottom of the trellis, looking up at her. Or looking at her arse.

"How you doing?" He asked when she was about two meters from the ground. However before she could answer, Ren missed her footing and, letting out of a yelp of surprise, she fell onto an equally surprised Sirius.

He grunted as the two of them collapsed onto the floor.

Ren was now lying atop of Sirius, her face on his chest and their legs tangled.

She raised her head and looked up at Sirius who had propped himself up on his elbows, not looking the slightest bit uncomfortable with having her on top of him, quite the opposite in fact, he was smirking again.

"Does that answer your question?" She asked, smirking back at him. She pulled herself up and looked around "Shit, I dropped my cigarette." She mumbled.

Sirius laughed and sat up.

"Well I must say I've never seen anyone climb down a flower trellis while having a cigarette at the same time. That's dedication to the cause." He said. Ren laughed and offered him her hand.

He took it and pulled himself up.

For the first time Ren got a proper look at Sirius. He was still clad in his dark blue t-shirt, black jeans and biker boots, but now he had donned a leather jacket. Unlike Ren's jacket, which sleeves had been rolled up slightly and hugged her body, his was slightly looser and had an old, battered air to it.

She had to admit that he did look handsome, but she wouldn't have admitted it to him. She knew it would only inflate his already large ego, which in Ren's opinion made him considerably less attractive.

"Ready?" He asked. Ren looked up to see him surveying her, obviously in the same way she had been doing to him. She nodded.

"Well in that case m'lady, let us journey to the not so magical world of London, and roam the streets on our majestic steed." Sirius said dramatically, offering her his arm as he did so. Ren laughed.

"Well, I thought we were just going for a ride around London on your bike, but that sounds more fun." She took his arm and the two of them strolled up the streets.

As they walked, Remus' words played in Ren's head. He had told her that Sirius was a ladies man, a womanizer, a Casanova extraordinaire.

If she hadn't received Remus' warning, would she still take caution around Sirius? The fact that she was a flirty person by nature didn't help matters.

She had always gotten on with boys better then she had with girls, she didn't like the catty drama that the most girls at Durmstrang seemed to welcome.

Ren hadn't really seen it as a problem until one day in her fifth year, a girl named Lindsey Carter had accused her of attempting to steal her boyfriend. It hadn't really bothered Ren as much as it should have when the girls at Durmstrang had started calling her things like slut, whore, and slag.

She was fairly sure Vanessa had been involved in the name calling.

This was probably why she had started to distance herself from her classmates. She didn't want to waste her time with the spiteful people that inhabited that school.

But even now, when she was fully aware of the habit, Ren still struggled to contain herself. Nine times out of ten, she didn't even know she was doing it.

However as she strolled through the door to the Leaky Cauldron, which Sirius had taken it upon himself to hold open for her, Ren began to think about her current situation.

She may not have romantic feelings for Remus, but there were certainly feelings there which only confused Ren. But on the other hand, in the least big-headed way possible, she was fairly sure that Sirius held some feelings for Ren.

However Ren doubted very much that these feelings were entirely platonic.

"Here we are." Sirius said, interrupting Ren's pondering. The two of them were now standing on the small, dingy road outside the Leaky Cauldron. Sirius bike stood waiting in front of them.

It really was beautiful. Gleaming jet black in colour which contrasted with the shiny metal pipe work beautifully. It was sleek, shiny and lustrous. Ren couldn't deny that she was jealous.

"I haven't got round to getting helmets yet so are you alright with going without?" Sirius asked her. Ren reluctantly drew her gaze from the beautiful machine and looked at him.

"I'm sure I'll survive." She said, smiling.

Sirius was now sat on his bike, gripping the handle bars and ready to go.

"Come on then." He said, to which she grinned and took a seat behind Sirius, wrapping her arms around his waist.

'_Merlin, someone works out.' _Ren thought as Sirius turned on his bike and revved up the engine.

"Ready?" Sirius asked. Ren could barely contain her excitement.

"Yes!" She practically yelled back, and with that Sirius zoomed down the street, round the corner and onto the main road that still had quite a few cars on it despite it being well past midnight.

Ren felt like she was flying, it was a truly amazing feeling. She closed her eyes and leaned back slightly, letting the wind fly through her hair.

"So where do you want to go?" Sirius called over the roar of the wind and traffic.

"I don't care," She called back. "As long as we get there fast!"

Ren heard Sirius let out a chuckle before he suddenly increased the speed and began weaving in and out of traffic. Ren tightened her grip around Sirius' waist and let out a whoop of joy.

She had no idea where they were going, but she couldn't care less. All she wanted to do was imprint this amazing feeling in her mind.

After about half an hour of speeding along, Ren was fairly sure they had came to the outskirts of London. She was also sure that the average Muggle motorbike wouldn't have been able to reach there so quickly.

Eventually Sirius began to slow down, and Ren saw that they had arrived at a small hillock that had an old birch tree standing on top of it. Sirius pulled up next to a bench that stood under said tree and turned off the ignition.

The two of them rose from the bike, and Ren stretched her muscles before looking beyond the houses that stood opposite the hillock. Only the clusters of streetlights in the distance could be seen in the darkness, lighting up the city of London, and the only sound was the faint rumble of traffic coming from the city centre.

Ren turned and joined Sirius on the metal bench in which he was reclining on. He looked a little too cool in Ren's opinion. The unlit cigarette between his lips and one leg propped on the other just added to his bad boy persona.

Ren would have never have pinned him and Remus as friends. They just couldn't have been more different. She wondered what Remus would say if he knew where she was now.

They had just agreed to enter an incredibly intimate relationship and here she was, sitting on a bench in an area that she had never stepped foot in before, with a boy that was apparently known as the 'Hogwarts Sex God'.

Ren still didn't believe that was actually Sirius' nickname amongst the girls of Hogwarts, but Remus had been quite indignant that it was.

She didn't want Remus to get the wrong idea about her. There was nothing between her and Sirius, but would he believe that? Remus didn't strike Ren as the jealous type but there was no way to be sure at the moment.

Although the taunts from the people at Durmstrang hadn't bothered her, Ren didn't want the people at Hogwarts to treat her the same way. Would her new classmates be as quick to judge her as those from Durmstrang?

"Something up, love?" Sirius asked. Ren turned to him and found herself looking directly into Sirius' eyes. Ren hadn't seen anything like them before. They were grey. A beautiful grey, the colour of gathering storm clouds.

They held a husky, seductive look in them as they stared into her sable eyes. Ren suddenly became very aware of the arm that was draped around the back of the bench, just mere inches from her shoulders, and of just how close she and Sirius were.

Ren cleared her throat and distracted herself by reaching for her small shoulder bag and extracting her cigarettes and lighter. The bag held objects that Ren normally always carried around with her. These included her wand, a purse which contained both Muggle and Wizarding money, and her Polaroid camera.

She had a Wizarding camera at home, but she enjoyed the way the Polaroid spat out the small photos straight away.

Ren lit a cigarette and turned to Sirius once more. The cigarette in his lips still remained unlit and he was rummaging through his pockets.

"Did I get my matches back?" He asked Ren, who thought about it for a moment.

"I think they're still on my ledge." She said. Sirius sighed.

"Fuck." He exclaimed.

"Here." Ren held out her lighter for him, which he took with a smile before lighting his cigarette and handing it back.

"Cheers." The two of them sat in silence for another minute or two. "What are you thinking about?" Sirius asked Ren suddenly. She thought about it for a moment.

"Hogwarts." She answered, and smiled slightly when Sirius raised a brow.

"Oh yeah?" He asked. She nodded and blew out the smoke.

"I suppose I'm kind of nervous."

"Don't be." Sirius said simply. "You'll go down brilliantly, especially with the lads." He added.

"See, that's the thing. I always go down well with boys, but the girls? Yeah, not so much."

Ren watched Sirius' brow furrow in confusion and decided to explain so he was spared the awkwardness of asking. "See, I've always gotten on with boys better than I have girls. However the girls at Durmstrang didn't seem to think that was possible to be friends with the boys without sleeping with them."

"So what happened?"

"Well, they didn't want to be friends with someone who was… How did they put it? A slut. So I just, sort of, went without friends." She took another drag and turned away from Sirius.

Ren began gazing at the street lights in an attempt to avert Sirius' eyes.

She had never really cared about not fitting in at Durmstrang; in fact she welcomed the reality, but if she was being honest with herself, Ren would have liked to have had someone who liked her for herself, someone who she could confide in and someone she could trust with her deepest secrets.

Sure she had had Dylan but in all honesty, what Ren wanted was a 'girlfriend'. Her Mum had always said if Ren had spent any more time with boys that she would become one herself.

This may have made Ren chuckle in the past, but over the last few weeks she had realised a fellow girl wouldn't have gone unappreciated within Ren's life.

When she brought herself back to reality Ren found Sirius staring at her once more.

"You struck me as the type who would have people dying to be your friend." He told her. She merely shrugged.

"Sorry to disappoint you." Sirius laughed.

"Don't worry, I like you this way." He said, causing Ren to smile before she looked up at the sky. She could make out a few stars amongst the dusky region of dark cloud.

Her head was now tilted so far back her neck was beginning to ache under the strain. Sirius watched her, his hand holding the now almost burnt out cigarette poised in front of his mouth.

"What are you doing?" He asked slowly.

"Hm?" Ren turned to him. "Oh, looking at the stars." She said, pointing upwards. "Wait-" She stubbed her cigarette out before sliding off the bench and lying down in the middle of the grass, pulling her hair out of the pony-tail as she did. "-Perfect."

Ren heard Sirius stand and walk towards her. When she tore her eyes away from the sky and looked up at him, Ren saw that he was standing almost directly above her head, much to her annoyance, and she had a clearer view of those tight, black trousers hugging a certain area than she did of his face.

"Call me crazy, but I prefer that view." Ren said, pointing up at the sky. Sirius laughed once again before lying down on her right. "There's just something about stars which I find so relaxing."

"I know what you mean." Sirius replied quietly. Ren turned her head and watched him. His profile looked completely serene. She couldn't make out a single crease in his handsome face; he looked at ease with himself.

But before Ren could study him for any longer, Sirius had jump up and was striding over to his bike. "You know what we need, love?"

Ren sensed this was a rhetorical question so decided not to answer. Instead she just watched as he opened his saddlebag and pulled out a glass bottle of amber liquid. "Firewhiskey!"

"Seriously? You drive around with a bottle of alcohol in your saddlebag?" Ren asked nonchalantly.

Sirius just shrugged as he walked back over and joined her on the ground once more, pulling the cork out the cork as he did.

He spat the cork somewhere behind him and was about to take a swig when Ren reached out for the bottle, placing a hand on it and preventing him from drinking.

"What's up Brown Eyes?"

"One, don't call me that. And two, you still have to drive me home, remember." Ren said. Sirius just smirked at her.

"Don't worry love, I'm the group's designated drunk driver. You're in good hands." He said, causing a smile to tug upon Ren's lips.

"I'm sure you are." She pulled the bottle from him and took a swig.

Her eyes fluttered close as the fiery liquid trickled down her throat. It warmed her insides and made the mild night air seem pleasantly toasty. After handing the bottle back to Sirius, she lay back down. Sirius did the same.

"So Ren, tell me about yourself."

"What do you want to know?"

"Anything." Ren turned her head to face him.

"You're going to have to elaborate on that." She told him. He let out a short bark of laughter before turning to her.

"Okay then," he paused. "Do you like… Muggle music?"

"Love it." She answered without hesitation.

"Oh really? Favourite artist?" He asked her.

"Hmm that's a hard one. I think my favourite has to be… The Kinks."

"Ah good choice Brown Eyes. What's your favourite colour?"

"Yellow."

"Favourite subject?"

"Care of Magical Creatures or Potions."

"Quidditch or Quidditch players?" He asked, to which Ren gave him a bemused look.

"Quidditch!" She said, as if it was the most obvious choice in the world. Sirius laughed again.

"And you support the Wimbourne Wasps I take it?" He asked, indicating towards the small wasp woven into her top. She nodded.

"Always have and always will." She told him proudly. Sirius grinned and opened his mouth, intent on asking another question but Ren held up her hand to stop him. "I hardly think it's fair that you're asking me all these questions and yet you haven't answered a single one yourself."

Sirius merely smirked.

"Fine, I love Muggle music, the Rolling Stones, dark red, Defence against the Dark Arts, Quidditch with the exception of the Holyhead Harpies team, and Appleby Arrows." He recited rapidly without drawing a breath.

Ren stared at him.

"Okay… I'm just going to pretend I understood what you just said." She said after a pause. Sirius let out another bark of laughter. "Can I ask you a question?" Ren asked.

"Shoot."

"Can I take a picture?" Sirius turned his head and looked at her.

"Of us?" He asked. Ren nodded with a small smile. "Sure." He said. Ren rolled over and grabbed her bag and pulled out her Polaroid before lying back down. She held the camera above them, pointing it down.

"Ready?" She asked. And when Sirius nodded she pressed the shutter button. The camera began to feed out the film and Ren pulled it out gently.

She shook it briefly before looking at it. She felt a small smile tug on her lips. Each of them were looking up into the lens, with a small smile on their faces. Ren's lips were parted slightly and her hair was spread out around her head. However you could still see the surrounding grass.

After showing the photo to Sirius who responded with a quick "Beautiful", Ren placed the camera back in her bag and rolled onto her side so that she was now facing him fully, hugging her knees to her chest as she did.

Although the days were unbearably hot, the nights (or by now, the early mornings) were surprisingly chilly. And Firewhiskey could only warm you up for so long.

"You cold?" Sirius asked, and when Ren nodded he sat up and removed the old leather jacket. "Here." He said, holding it out to her. Ren sat up quickly.

"No, Sirius. You'll be cold." She said.

"Not if I keep drinking that." Sirius nodded to the glass bottle propped up next to him.

"Are you sure?" Ren asked tentatively.

"Positive." He assured her, before draping the large jacket over her slim shoulders. The thick material brought warmth to Ren's body almost instantly.

"Thanks." She said quietly. After that the two of them lay back down and began to chat again. Every so often Sirius would slip in a pick up line and Ren would shoot him down.

By ten past two in the morning, Ren was fast asleep next to Sirius, snuggling into his chest for extra warmth and not long after that Sirius drifted into a peaceful sleep under the stars.

* * *

Sirius Black lay fast asleep with his arm around the equally peaceful Ren Gallagher. The two of them lay on the grass of a hillock under a large birch tree.

Bird song could be heard from said tree, a sweet melodious chorus of seemingly never repeated notes. But it wasn't enough to disturb the two snoozing teenagers from their slumbers.

However the shrill voice that sounded from their left was.

"Good grief Dorothy! Look at those two youths over there!"

"Oh yes Margaret! I see them!"

Sirius cracked his left eye open slightly. Walking along a small path that was situated behind the old bench were two ancient looking women.

One was tall and the other short and they were both kitted out in tartan skirts, knitted cardigans and bedroom slippers. Both had fluffy white hair, weathered skin, hunched backs and shoulders that rolled forwards.

The taller of the two had a pair of thick-rimmed spectacles on the end of her bony nose and was peering at the two with great interest. The shorter one held a red lead in her thin hand which was attached to a tremendously fat dachshund whose belly was almost dragging along the floor.

The poor dog looked as ancient as two old women.

Sirius kept perfectly still as he watched the pair who seemed not to have noticed he was awake.

"Now what on earth do you think they've been doing?" The short woman asked her companion.

"Well Margaret, I do believe that nowadays it's called 'dogging'"

"Oh really?"

"Yeees." The tall one said, dragging out the word.

Sirius suddenly felt Ren tense. He flicked his eyes downwards and saw her looking up at him with a look of total disbelief on her face. Her back was facing the two women so they were once again oblivious to the fact that they were both awake.

"Humph. Back in my day there was no such thing as dogging, we had things called 'orgies'" Ren's mouth dropped open.

"Ah yes, I remember them."

"Do you Dorothy?"

"Yeees." The tall one, Dorothy, said again. "Do you remember… oh what did we call him? Oh yes, Big-Dick Bernard."

"OH how could I forget him-" Margaret started, but thankfully they seemed to forget about the two teenagers and began to shuffle away before Ren or Sirius could hear any of the details, the dog plodding along after them.

Sirius looked down again to see Ren's mouth still hanging open, her eyes wide. She lifted her head from his chest and sat up.

"I can't believe I just heard that." She said quietly. She looked at Sirius and they both suddenly burst out laughing. Ren fell back again and the two of them just lay there, roaring with laughter.

When they eventually did calm down, Sirius sat up and looked over to Ren who was still lying beside him, her eyes close, still letting out the occasional titter.

He then glanced to his right and saw an empty Firewhiskey bottle lying next to him.

"Did we drink this together?" He asked. Ren opened her eyes and looked at the bottle in his hand.

"I only had around four gulps. You had the rest."

That would explain why he felt a little hazy. Sirius glanced back at Ren who was now watching him. "Are you feeling alright?" She asked.

"Yeah, I think I'm still a little drunk though." He said. Ren smiled at him.

"Well you still have to drive me home." She said. Her eyes suddenly widened and she shot upwards. "You still have to drive me home! Fuck! What time is it?"

"Hm? Oh, erm-" He looked at his watch. "Half past six."

"Half past six?" She asked, her brow furrowed.

"Yeah, why?"

"What kind of pensioners go for a walk at half past six in the morning?" Sirius crossed his legs.

"The same ones who have orgies with, who was it? Big-Dick Ben?"

"Bernard." Ren corrected absentmindedly, rubbing her temple. "Anyway, come on. I need to get back." She stood up, still wrapped in his jacket.

Sirius couldn't help but stare slightly. She looked fucking hot! There was something about girls wearing his clothes which Sirius had always found murderously arousing.

Not a full outfit or anything, but just a shirt or something like that always got him going. And his boxers. Girls wearing his boxers were Sirius' weakness.

He watched as Ren stretched her stiff arms above her head. She really was delicious, especially when her hair was still slightly mussed and had that 'just woken up' look about it.

"You just going to sit there all day?" She asked, causing Sirius' eyes to refocus and look her in the eyes. He se stood up and let out a groan as he stretched.

"Holy shit." He murmured as he rubbed his eyes.

"You're not going to be able to drive are you?" Ren asked. He slowly turned to her, trying not to move his head to quickly in fear of causing any sharp pain to the hangover that was threatening to cloud over.

This action seemed to answer her question. "Right, key's please." She said, holding out her palm.

"What?" He asked slowly.

"There's no way in hell I'm letting you drive." She told him.

"But… I'm not drunk."

"Maybe not, but you're hungover."

"And?"

"Give me the keys."

"Never!" Sirius said, taking a step backwards, stumbling slightly as he did so.

Ren raised an eyebrow. She then put a hand in each pocket of his jacket and rummaged around slightly before pulling out the key to his bike from the left pocket.

Sirius blinked. "… Ah." He said slowly. Ren chuckled.

"Come on Fonzy." She said, turning to the bike. He reluctantly trudged after her, like a small child who wasn't getting his way. He stopped when he reached the bike, watching as Ren straddled the driver's seat. His seat. "What's up? Don't feel comfortable with a girl driving your bike?"

Sirius looked at her.

"Well…" He began slowly.

"Seriously? I was only joking!" She exclaimed in disbelief.

"It's not just women! I just don't really feel comfortable about anyone driving her." Sirius said quietly. Ren stood up, hitched her leg over the bike and took a step towards him.

"Look, I know you may not want someone else driving your bike, and I understand why, but it's-" she grabbed his wrist and looked at his watch "-quarter to seven, and my parents get up at half eight, so we really need to get a shimmy on."

She smiled up at him, obviously trying to reassure him nothing would happen to his bike but he still didn't feel completely at ease with anyone else driving his beloved bike.

He had spent a lot of money on it and if anything happened to it he was fucked. "I have driven a bike before if that's any consolation. My friend from Sweden, Dylan, had one."

"Well… I suppose you can." Sirius said reluctantly. Ren beamed at him.

"Brilliant! Now get on!" She told him, and she took her place on the bike once more. Sirius sat himself down behind her, albeit with a little more force then one would deem normal.

Ren glanced over her shoulder and smirked at him. Sirius had to admit, she did look perfectly at home behind the handle bars.

'_Maybe this won't be so bad.'_ He thought as he placed his hands on Ren's hips. He smirked, unbeknownst to her, and tightened his grip.

"Oh yeah, I'm extremely ticklish so don't go wiggling your fingers around." Ren said.

"What? Why?" Sirius asked. What was the worst that could happen from that?

"Well, erm…" She scratched behind her ear and looked downwards. "When Dylan did that, I accidentally… Kind of," She paused. "Drove us into a lake."

"Wait! What?!"

"Okay! Let's go!" Ren said brightly, completely ignoring Sirius' sudden protest and revving the engine before speeding off down the small hill.

Due to it being so early, the roads had barely any cars on them and Ren was able to weave through the few that were with ease.

It had taken them little over an hour and a half to reach the hillock last night, but Sirius had a feeling that if Ren kept this pace up they would reach Diagon Ally in no time at all.

Not once did Sirius readjust his hands, purely out of fear Ren would loose control and kill them both.

In what seemed like no time at all they were driving down Charing Cross Road and pulling up in front of the Leaky Cauldron. They both rose from the bike and Ren tossed Sirius the key.

He caught it and smiled at her. The same charming smile he always flashed at her in the hope that it would eventually take effect. But as usual, he got nothing back.

"See, that wasn't so bad." She said cheerfully.

"I suppose not." He told her. But before he could say anything else, he suddenly became aware of the predicament he now faced. "What am I supposed to do now? If I'm, according to you anyway, too hungover to drive, how am I meant to get back to James?"

Ren raised her eyebrows in what looked like disbelief.

"I would have thought it was obvious. Leave the bike here and floo to James' from the Leaky." She said, shrugging.

"Oh yeah." Sirius said quietly.

"Anyway, my parents alarm goes off in about ten minutes so I really need to get going." She took a step closer to Sirius and gave him a hug.

Sirius couldn't help but notice how good her body felt against his, but before he could savour the feeling she pulled away. "Thanks for a great night. I really enjoyed myself." She said.

And with that, she hurried into the pub. As the heavy door swung shut, a number of thoughts hit Sirius at once.

Firstly, the fact that this morning had been the first time he had woken up next to a girl he hadn't slept with the previous evening.

Secondly, that he was beginning to want to spend more time with Ren, but not just do he could her into bed.

And finally, just how much he needed one of Remus' hangover potions.

**Hope it was worth the wait. God knows how long the next chapter will take me so I'll apologize in advance for the wait.  
****Thanks for reading!**

**Evie x**


	6. Chapter 6

Perfectly Content  
_Chapter 6_

Ren found that the days leading up to her performance were a blur of rehearsals, work and owling Remus.

She had practised her song so many times she could have performed it backwards while balancing upside down, and yet Violet was still insisting that inbetween every shift Ren went over it at least five times.

She was beyond tired, and yet whenever she was permitted free time, Ren found that instead of collapsing in bed like she normally would have, she would be owling Remus.

Unlike Vanessa, Ren didn't have mountains of friends, in fact she could probably count all of her friends on one hand. Within a week of moving to England, Vanessa had been patrolling Diagon Ally in search of people of who she could spend her time with talking about how dreamy Stubby Boardman is.

Now while Ren would have rather hexed all of her hair off then spend five minutes conversing with Vanessa's new friends, she had to admit that she was a little jealous of how easily her younger sister could make friends.

Not that she ever would have admitted it.

And seeing as Ollie had even made a couple of friends while he had been in Quality Quidditch Supplies, Ren had prepared herself to be the only Gallagher going into Hogwarts without any friends. That was, however, until she had met Remus.

He had been the first person she had met in England and actually liked. They had spoken everyday since there last meeting, normally about Hogwarts, but on the night before Ren's performance, the subtext of the letters didn't mention Hogwarts once.

"_If I'm being honest with you Remus, I'm really scared about tomorrow. Mum said that the tickets were selling like Cauldron Cakes and that it was going to be a full house. I've never sang for more that seven people, and I knew all of them!_

_It'll be completely different in front of strangers. What if they laugh at me? What if they laugh at that stupid dress? Why in Merlin's name did you let me buy it?! I just really don't want to fuck this up._

_Ren x"_

"_Trust me Ren, you have nothing to worry about. Your Mum obviously wants the night to be a success so why would she have put you as the headline act is you weren't anything short of amazing? _

_And Ren you have nothing to worry about when it comes to the dress. You looked beautiful._

_Remus x"_

"_Yes but in all honesty, it's not me. I don't understand why I can't just go up there with just my guitar. Why do I have to wear the dress and the makeup? _

_I don't want people to assume that I'm this glamorous showbiz singer when in reality I'm just a girl who loves playing the guitar and happens to have an okay voice._

_Ren x"_

"_Ren, please just listen to me. I agree that you don't necessarily need to look glamorous but trust me; you look like dynamite in that dress. _

_And I get that you're scared, I understand that. I'd be concerned if you weren't. But don't worry, I'll be there in the audience. If you need help at any point just look for me and it will all be fine._

_Remus x"_

Ren placed the letter from Remus on her desk and sighed. He was right of course. It was only natural to be nervous. Completely normal. And besides, she knew if nerves did get the better of her all she would have to do was find Remus' eyes and he would set her on the right track.

It had become clear to Ren that Remus had a certain way with words she could never hope to muster. He knew how to calm her down and make her believe that it would all be okay.

Even her father, who had always been the voice of reason in Ren's life, couldn't achieve that recently.

The feelings which Ren held for Remus may not have been totally romantic, despite their new "arrangement", but she did love and appreciate him as a friend.

Ren now knew what it was like to have a true friend.

* * *

"Bloody hell Peter, look who's on time for a change." Remus proclaimed as two raven haired boys strolled up to where the two fair haired boys were standing outside the Dozing Dragon.

"And what's that meant too mean Moony?" James asked, raising an eyebrow. Remus grinned.

"That the two of you are always late." Remus said, shrugging. "Isn't that right Pete?"

"Indeed it is Moony." Peter said.

"Well I don't know about you, but we didn't want to miss an opportunity to stare at Miss Gallagher's delicious derrière, did we Prongs?" Sirius asked James with a smirk.

"We most certainly do not." James said.

"Careful Prongs, you don't want Evans hearing you say that." Peter said. Sirius snorted.

"Yeah, it may ruin your chances with her." He said.

"So the only reason the two of you are on time is so you can gawk at Ren's bum for as long as possible?" Remus asked.

He sighed as Sirius and James nodded simultaneously. "Of course is it. Come on lets get inside."

As the group trekked into the pub, Remus pulled four small tickets out from his slightly battered coat pocket.

"Tickets? I didn't know we needed tickets. Where did you get them?" Sirius asked in a low voice as he sidestepped the other people who were gathering in the entrance.

"Ren got hold of them for us. I wanted to pay for them but she insisted that we have them on the house." Remus told his friend. They were now at the front of the small queue and found themselves being greeted by Ren's mum, Violet.

She was wearing a floor length, plum coloured dress and her hair hung in loose curls over her shoulders instead of the bun she normally sported. Remus thought she looked lovely, if slightly nervous.

"Remus!" She exclaimed happily when she saw the small group. Remus found himself being pulled forward and having Violet wrap her arms around him. He could feel himself starting to blush.

"Hey Mrs Gallagher." He said as she released him.

"I told you, call me Violet." She said with a grin before turning to the others. "Sirius and James too. It's lovely to see you again boys. And I don't believe we've met, Petal." She was now addressing Peter.

"I'm Peter." He squeaked quietly. Violet smiled warmly at him.

"Well it's lovely to meet you Peter. I'm Violet, Ren's mother." She told him, to which Peter smiled shyly.

Even though Remus considered himself as shy around women, he was thankful he would always have one over Peter. "Do you have your tickets?" Violet asked, taking note on the large queue forming behind them.

Remus handed her the tickets and after checking them briefly, Violet stepped aside and let them enter the pub.

Besides the bar at the back of the room, it was almost unrecognisable On the other side of the room, opposite the bar, was a large stage, atop of which sat a grand piano, a set of drums, a double bass and a microphone stand.

Previously there had been an array of both round and square mahogany tables, all with a checkered table cloth draped over it, but now the square tables had been replaced with more round tables, all with a crisp white cloth over it.

On each table, there was a glass dome that was around the size of a Bludger, which sat amongst a wreath. Each wreath had the odd white rose poking from the greenery, and each dome emitted a dim glow that gave the room an eerie warmth.

Looking around, Remus saw that each table had up to eight places and he noticed that they were filling up fast.

"Right lads, where shall we sit?" James asked.

"Well, we want the best view possible so I suggest close to the front." Sirius said before he took off towards the stage and plonked himself down in a chair about two or three meters away from the stage.

As Remus, James and Peter joined him they heard him muttering to himself. "Yeah, we'll have a fine view from here." He was saying.

As the others took their seats and were getting comfy, a waiter wearing a black waistcoat and tie over a clean-cut, white shirt appeared at the table.

"Would you gentlemen care for something to drink?" He asked, politely. Sirius straightened in his chair.

"Why yes we would, kind sir. I would like a glass of your finest Firewh-"

"-Four cokes please." Remus interjected. Sirius turned to Remus and stared at him with a nonplussed expression.

"What the fuck is a coke?" He asked indignantly, as the waiter walked away.

"It's a drug isn't it?" Peter asked with a furrowed brow.

"I think it's a Muggle drink." James said.

"Oh Sherlock, thank God you're here." Sirius said, turning to James, his voice dripping with sarcasm. James merely stuck his middle finger up with a smirk. "What I mean is why are you ordering me it?" Sirius asked, turning back to Remus.

"Because it's nice Sirius. And unlike Firewhiskey, it allows you to remember what you did the previous night." Remus answered.

"Wait, so it doesn't have alcohol in it?"

"No, Sirius." Sirius let out an irked sigh and rolled his eyes. James chuckled slightly at his friend's petulant behaviour.

Before anyone could say anything else, the waiter appeared carrying a tray with four tall glasses of coke placed upon it. Each glass had ice cubes, a slice of lemon and a long black straw in it.

The waiter placed a glass in front of each of them, bid them a good evening and left.

Remus immediately removed his straw and took several gulps from his glass. He watched his friends remove the straws just as he had done and proceed to take tentative sips.

Remus grinned as James' and Peter's expressions softened. He turned to Sirius who face was had his lips pursed slightly.

"It would be better if it had alcohol in it." Was all he said before taking a large gulp. Remus laughed.

Conversation began to flow amongst the group and within five minutes, it had turned to Quidditch. "Can we just take a moment to appreciate Gregory Cotton here?" Sirius was saying. "I mean, he is by far the best seeker the Arrows have ever ha…"

He suddenly trailed off and was staring at the table to the right of theirs, looking directly past Remus' head. "… Holy shit." He said quickly, in a low voice.

Remus turned towards where Sirius had been gazing, as did Peter and James, however he didn't see anything that would normally catch Sirius' eye. No young women, alcohol, or anything of the sort.

"What? Padfoot, what is it?" James asked in a concerned voice, turning back to his friend.

"Those two old women." Sirius said, discreetly pointing to the table next to them as he slipped further down into his chair.

Remus turned and saw the old women Sirius was referring to.

One was tall and skinny, the other short and fat. The tall one was wearing expensive looking robes of navy blue and the short one was wearing similar robes but in a deep green.

They looked ancient, well over a hundred years old, but perfectly harmless… well maybe a little grumpy, but harmless nevertheless. The boys turned back to Sirius, all wearing confused expressions.

"What about them?" Peter asked, cautiously.

"Oh dear Merlin! You didn't… you know… did you?!" James blurted out, sitting bolt upright.

"Wha-? No! I'm offended you think I would!" Sirius exclaimed sharply.

"Well you did once say that your age limit for women was between seventeen, maybe sixteen if they're hot, and death."

"And that you wouldn't be pushed on that, no matter how much you tarted up a corpse." Peter added.

"For God's sake, that was a joke! And I was drunk! You know better than anyone not to listen to anything I say when I'm drunk!" Sirius argued.

"Okay, moving on!" Remus interrupted. "So who are they Sirius?" He asked.

"They were there when Ren and I met up." Sirius said, watching them once more.

"… What?" Remus asked. Sirius turned to Remus.

"When Ren snook out and came for a ride on my bike with me, we were woke up by those two women-" he nodded towards them "- talking about dogging and orgies."

Remus, James and Peter all stared at Sirius in utter bewilderment.

"… Ew." James said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, ew." Sirius said. Fortunately for him, the two old women seemed to be too busy complaining to focus on anyone else but themselves.

"Honestly Dorothy, how difficult is it to get two gin and tonics?" The four boys overheard the short one grumble to her companion.

"Oh, I know Margaret. Back in my day we never waited, we simply took anything we wanted." Dorothy snapped.

"Yes we did." Margaret agreed. "Can't do that nowadays, too many of those damn Muggle security cameras around." All four boys eyes widened in disbelief.

"Did she seriously just say that?" Remus asked.

"You have to remember that these are the women who were talking about orgies at half six in the morning." Sirius told them. They all sipped their drinks in silence until the shrill voices of Dorothy and Margaret met their ears once more.

"Well it's about time!"

"I thought I was going to die of dehydration! I'm two hundred and two you know!"

"How would you have liked to have the death of a two hundred and two year old woman on your conscience ey boy?"

The group heard the waiter stutter a word of apology before being dismissed by the two formidable women.

"Fucking imbecile." One of them murmured.

James snorted into his drunk while Peter just blinked in disbelief.

"What would you do in that situation?" He asked, completely dumbfounded. Remus smiled, but before he could answer he was interrupted by a voice coming from the stage.

"Good evening everyone, and welcome to The Dozing Dragon!" Remus turned to see Violet Gallagher standing on the stage, speaking into the Muggle microphone that sat in the stand.

As she prattled on about how much she appreciated the support everyone was showing, Remus found himself zoning out.

He was anxious to see Ren. He knew just how nervous she would be right now, even if she was remembering Remus' words of encouragement. Remus could almost imagine her twisting a strand of hair around her fingers.

He had noticed that it was something which Ren did when she was nervous or anxious.

He had first beheld the habit when she had been telling Remus about Durmstrang. He could understand why she would be anxious when it came to her old school. It produces more dark witches and wizards than any other school, and people can be very quick to jump to conclusions.

And Remus had also noticed it when Ren had been talking about Vanessa's hostility towards her.

However, Remus' thoughts were abruptly cut off by Sirius.

"I can't believe how hot Ren's mum is." He whispered in awe. Remus rolled his eyes.

"Don't get any ideas. She's a married woman." He whispered back.

"Yeah, plus Elsa from the Leaky would be heartbroken if she found out you were fucking another pub owner." James interjected quietly, earning a swift punch in the arm from Sirius.

"So tonight, my daughter has happily agreed to sing for you all. Please welcome, Ren Gallagher!"

And there she was, joining her Mother on stage. Remus was sure he had never seen anything so beautiful. The black dress was more gorgeous than anything he remembered. It hugged her frame beautifully and made her look positively regal.

Her long hair had been pulled back into a low knot but still had some loose curls hanging out, framing her face and she was wearing turquoise earrings that added just the right pop of colour to the outfit.

Now, while Ren may have been the type of girl who looked absolutely breathtaking with next to no makeup on, the dark, smoky eye makeup definitely worked in her favour.

Remus drew his eyes from her and looked around the audience, who were applauding politely. His eyes settled on his friends, all of whom were staring at Ren.

All three of them were seemed to be captivated by her, but Remus had to remind himself that only one of them was a major threat.

James may have been staring at Ren as if she were the new Cleansweep broom, but she was not his Lily Evans. And Peter… well, Remus knew that no matter how hard Peter may try, Ren would never date him… ever.

That just left Sirius. Remus watched as Sirius clapped slowly, his eyes dark with desire. Remus knew exactly what Sirius was thinking about, and he knew the lengths Sirius would go to in order to make those thoughts a reality.

But Remus didn't want to worry about that now, he was here to watch Ren.

Violet had now left the stage and three men, all wearing black suits, had joined Ren on stage, each taking a seat or standing next to one of the instruments.

"Thank you." Ren said, now standing in front of the stand. She swallowed and smiled. "So, tonight I'm going to be performing a number of songs in order to raise money for the charity Wizards without Wands."

She paused, looking around the room. "Now, I just want to clarify that this is the first real audience I've ever performed for so, you know… go easy on me." The crowd chuckled slightly.

A long, gracile leg had now emerged from the slit in her dress and Remus noticed Sirius straighten slightly from the corner of his eye. "This first song was made famous by the lovely Peggy Lee, but I'm going to sing it a little differently. It's called Why Don't You Do Right."

And then she began to sing.

"_You had plenty of money 1922.__You let other women make a fool of you.__  
__Why don't you do right,__like some other men do?"_

Her voice was sweet and silvery. Casual but clean, and it had a quality to it that fascinated Remus.

"_Get out of here,__get me some money too.__  
__You're sittin' down and wonderin' what it's all about. __If you ain't got no money, they will put you out.__  
__Why don't you do right,__like some other men do?"_

Remus was unable draw his eyes away from her. He couldn't help but wonder why she had been so nervous the night before. She seemed completely at home on the stage. Plus she looked and sounded amazing.

"_Get out of here,__get me some money too."_

She had flawless intonation, and practically used her voice like an instrument. It had an unusual combination of confidence and innocence.

"_Now if you had prepared 20 years ago.__You wouldn't be a wanderin' now from door to door.__  
__Why don't you do right,__like some other men do?_

_Get out of here, get me some money too.  
Get out of here, get me some money too.  
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?"_

The final note was long and impressive. The audience was applauding before she had even finished it.

The four boys and many others (not including Dorothy and Margaret), were on their feet and cheering. Remus watched Ren survey the audience with a look of complete bewilderment on her face. Remus managed to catch her eye and he started cheering again.

Ren grinned at him, and Remus could do nothing but grin back.

* * *

Ren was awoken by the babble coming from the Sunday morning shoppers. She had slept with the window due to the heat being utterly unbearable.

Due to this, she had slept in just her knickers and a thin vest top that hung nice and loosely.

She sat up and glanced around her room. The black dress she had been wearing the previous night was now draped over the chair that sat next to her desk.

Ren pushed her patchwork quilt off and rolled out of bed. Last night had been amazing, truly one of the best nights of her life, and she had also got to see Remus and the boys briefly after the show.

Violet had insisted that Ren stand by the door with her and see everyone out, and although she had only managed to exchange a quick hug and a few hurried words with Remus, it had been nice all the same.

She picked up the glass of water which was still half full that had been next to her mattress and moved over to the window, taking large gulps from the glass as she did.

The thin, white curtains were fluttering gently from the outside breeze. Ren pulled them back and looked down into the street below.

It was another gorgeous day, very warm and very bright. Almost too bright for someone who had just woken up.

She hurried over to her desk and picked up her Ray-Bans before turning on the old radio that sat on her desk, and was greeted by Queen's 'Somebody to Love'.

Ren moved back to her window and placed the glasses on. _'Much better.'_ She thought.

The street was full of witches and wizards of all ages, all blissfully unaware of the brunette watching them from above.

It was too nicer day to waste indoors. Ren decided she would have a shower then decide how she would spend the day.

She trotted down the narrow staircase and headed to the family bathroom. Thankfully no one was in there, so she locked the door and turned on the shower.

While waiting for the water to heat up, Ren picked up the brush that lived on the bathroom shelf and started to smooth out the knots in her hair. After this task was completed, she stripped down and stepped into the shower.

Fifteen minutes later, she emerged feeling clean and refreshed. After wrapping a fluffy towel around her body and brushing her teeth, Ren unlocked the door and headed back up to her room.

As she ascended the stairs, Ren heard Big Girls Don't Cry by Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons begin to play, causing her to dart up the stairs and across the room.

When she reached the radio, she turned the volume dial upwards and let the music fill the room.

Ren then picked up her wand and after muttering a little charm, her hair was dry and as curly as ever.

She opened her wardrobe and began to rummage around.

First she picked out some clean underwear, then her three quarter length, light wash jeans and finally a cropped checkered top. It was much like the one she had worn when visiting London with Remus, however this one was short sleeves and was a lighter shade of blue.

Just then, an idea popped into Ren's head._ 'Why not call in on Remus?'_ She thought. Fantastic, now she had a plan of action.

After putting on her underwear, she pulled the shirt on. Leaving three of the buttons at the bottom of the shirt undone, she went on tie the fabric in a knot, making the shirt slightly shorter so it exposed her tummy.

Ren then pulled on her jeans and a pair of white ankle socks before starting the hunt for her white lace up pumps.

She found one under her desk and the other lodge between two books. Merlin only knows how it got there.

She pulled them on, and after turning off the radio and grabbing her bag, she headed downstairs.

The kitchen seemed to glow even more than usual due to the sunlight that was flooding in through the large window. Emmett was rummaging through the fridge when Ren entered.

"Hey Dad." Ren said, cheerily. Emmett looked around and smiled when he saw her.

"Morning Ren, you're looking lovely." He said, causing Ren to smile back. "Someone's just ordered a chicken, red onion and grape sandwich." He went on to tell her.

Ren raised an eyebrow. "I know." Emmett said. "I've never heard of one either."

Ren moved behind him and looked over his shoulder into the fridge. Ren was the only family member who could do this having inherited her Dads tallness.

"What are you looking for then? Chicken, red onion or grape?" She asked.

"The red onion. I've been looking for about five minutes but I think we're out." Emmett answered. Ren reached past him and pulled out half a red onion from behind a carton of milk.

"Here you go." She said, smiling. She then pulled a rosy looking apple from the fridge and retreated to the sit on the kitchen island.

"What would I do without you?" Emmett asked. Ren shrugged.

"I don't know, but you wouldn't be making a chicken, red onion and grape sandwich." She said before taking a bite of the apple. Emmett laughed.

"That's true." He said. "So what're you doing today?"

"I was going to go and see Remus" Ren told him.

"Remus? That's the one that I met right?" Emmett asked.

"Yeah…"

"Ohhhhh." Emmett said slowly, as he began to cut the onion.

"Oh God, what's Mum been telling you now?" Ren asked in a bored tone.

"Nothing, nothing," Emmett insisted. "He just seems like a nice guy." Ren raised an eyebrow. She didn't believe him one bit but she didn't want to press the subject.

"He is." She said. "Now if you don't mind-" She paused to throw the apple core in the bin. "-I'm going to make myself scarce."

Her father waved her off as she disappeared through the door.

Ren walked swiftly through the pub and out into Diagon Ally. She removed her sunglasses from her head (they had been resting there in the attempt to keep her hair out of her eyes) and placed them over her eyes.

As Ren sauntered up the street towards the Leaky Cauldron, she would glance briefly at the many shop window displays.

Nothing really caught her eye until she came to a tiny little shop which had a sign that read 'Obscurus Books' hanging over the door. It didn't have an obnoxious display, just a few books stacked on a little wooden table.

Another thing that drew Ren in was the fact that it didn't have a person standing outside trying to entice people inside. In didn't really seem to stand out at all.

Without a second thought, Ren walked inside.

A tinkling bell announced her arrival as she pushed the door open. She stepped inside and looked around.

It was rather dark, and was quiet like a library. There were bookshelves that reached up to the high ceiling which required ladders to reach the very top shelves.

Ren saw that a balcony of sorts overlooked the ground floor, and she could see that the balcony had many other bookshelves atop of it.

Ren slowly walked the length of the room, taking in every little detail as she did so, and approached the spiral staircase that lead to the balcony. She climbed the stairs and looked around.

There were a number of chairs dotted around a large table that was situated in the middle of the floor.

Besides Ren, the only other person up there was a girl who occupied one of the chairs, her head bent over a book. Ren couldn't make out her face because her long, deep red hair was shielding it.

Ren moved towards nearest bookshelf and began to browse. There were both a selection of wizard and Muggle books and Ren had to remind herself that she couldn't spend the whole day in here.

Suddenly Ren heard a chair scraping behind her and she turned to see the auburn haired girl walking towards a shelf.

She still hadn't seemed to notice Ren.

This gave Ren a chance to examine her. Even though she could only make out the girls profile, Ren could see that she was very pretty.

She had a perfectly straight nose, and clear, paper-white skin. Her hair had a neatness to it that Ren's could never hope to achieve without the help of an entire pot of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion and Ren could see that her eyes were a beautiful shade of emerald.

She wore a green, knee-length sundress and simple brown sandals. Ren now noticed that the girl was rather short, and had a petite body shape.

Ren turned back to the shelf and continued browsing once she had finished her evaluation, but was disturbed by a soft grunt coming from the girl.

Ren turned and saw that the girl was standing on her tiptoes in the attempt to reach a black book on the top shelf, but to no avail.

"Need any help?" Ren called out. The girl jumped and spun around. Her face relaxed slightly upon seeing Ren, but not entirely.

"Oh, um…" She trailed off but nodded tentatively.

Ren smiled and placed the book she was holding back on the shelf before walking over to the girl.

She reached up and took hold of the book, pulling it down from the shelf. She handed it the girl and smiled again. "Thanks." The girl said. "The disadvantages of being freakishly short for a seventeen year old, ey?"

Ren laughed. It was true. For a seventeen year old this girl was indeed short, only just reaching up to Ren's shoulder. But then again, Ren was tall for a seventeen year old girl.

"I wouldn't know." Ren said. The girl laughed.

"Lucky." She looked up to Ren. "I'm Lily, by the way. Lily Evans." She said, sticking out her hand. Ren took it.

"Ren Gallagher." She said. They both moved back to the big table and took a seat.

"So Ren, are you from around here?" Lily asked.

"Well, I've just moved back here from Sweden.

"Sweden? Wow."

"Yeah. Erm, did you say you were seventeen?" Ren asked, not wanting to change the subject but she couldn't help herself. Lily nodded.

"So you're still at Hogwarts right?"

"Yeah, I'll be going into my final year." Ren couldn't help but smile at this.

"I'm spending my final year at Hogwarts as well." She said.

"Really? As far as I know there hasn't been a transfer student for years." Lily said.

"Well you're going to get three of us this year. Me, my sister and my brother." Lily smiled.

"Well it will be nice to have you around. I think it's rather brave of you to move. I'd hate to have to move away from my school and friends." She said.

"Well I was all too happy to get away from Durmstrang." Ren said quietly.

"Durmstrang?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I didn't really fit in though. I won't be missed by anyone." Ren said tepidly, not meeting Lily's eyes. "Please don't judge me." She added quickly.

"Who am I to judge you on your old school?" Lily asked, smiling warmly at Ren.

Ren couldn't help but smile back.

"Is everyone at Hogwarts as nice as you?" She asked, causing Lily to laugh.

"I'm afraid not." She said. "Are you nervous about moving schools?" Ren thought about it for a moment.

"I suppose I was, but about two weeks ago I met this really nice guy who's going into his seventh year as well so I figured I'd have at least one friend." She said.

"Oh yeah?" Lily asked with a playful look in her eye. "Who's this guy then?"

"His name's Remus." Lily's eyes widened slightly.

"Remus? Remus Lupin?" She asked.

"Yeah, do you know him?"

"I do indeed, he's lovely isn't he?" Lily questioned, smiling at Ren, who nodded.

"He really is. I was going to call in on him today, actually." She said.

"Oh, well don't let me stop you." Lily said quickly.

"Don't worry about it. I thought quarter to ten was kind of early to be calling in on him in all honesty." Ren told her.

"Have you met anyone else from Hogwarts?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, Remus introduced me to his friends." Ren said.

"Black, Pettigrew and Potter?" Lily questioned, bluntly.

"Do I detect some bitterness there, Lily?" Ren asked, playfully. Lily sighed.

"For some more than others." She said. Before Ren could respond, a thought suddenly hit her.

"Oh! You're Evans aren't you?" She asked loudly, sitting bolt upright.

"… What?" Lily's brow was furrowed in confusion.

"Remus said that James was head over heels in love with this girl called Lily, and that he would probably have more of a chance with you if he stopped calling you Evans." Ren explained. Lily just blinked.

"Oh yeah, that's me." She said slowly.

"I can totally see why James is in love with you." Ren said. "… That sounded less weird in my head." She added. Lily started to laugh.

"It's going to brilliant having you at Hogwarts Ren." She said between chuckles. "Right, I think you should go and see Remus and then owl me later on, okay?" Ren smiled at the pretty red head.

"Okay. It's been great meeting you Lily." She said as she rose from her chair. "I'll owl you later."

Lily smiled and nodded. Ren waved to her as she headed down the circular staircase. She placed her sunglasses over her eyes as she walked towards the door.

Upon re-entering the street, Ren saw that it had gotten considerably more crowded in the half an hour she had spent in the book shop.

Navigating her way through the pulsing crowd would most likely take twice as long as normal and Ren really wasn't up for that. She decided to apperate, however that green outside Remus' was bound to be full of people and she couldn't risk them seeing her.

But at that moment, Ren remembered passing a small alleyway about two minutes away from Remus' house.

Perfect.

**I'm surprised at how quickly I managed to get this chapter out... well quickly for me. With Ren's dress I was thinking along the line of Angelina Jolie's 2009 Oscars dress, and when it came to her song I was thinking along the lines of Jessica Rabbit but less... provocative. Also, I kind of imagine her voice to be like Natalia Tena's. Her voice is to die for.**

**Anyway, just thought I'd clear a few things up :3 Thanks for reading, I'll hopefully update soon.**

**Evie x**


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay, so the M rating comes into play in this chapter. First bit of smut I've ever done and it's pretty terrible but what's a girl to do? Let me know what you think and I'll try to update asap.** **Thanks :)**

**Disclaimer: Still own nothing**

Perfectly Content  
_Chapter 7_

The loud crack announced Ren's arrival. She paused after regaining her balance, waiting to see if anyone came to investigate the noise. Thankfully, no one did.

Ren started walking down the ally, approaching the entrance that would lead her to Maple Drive. Upon emerging into the sunlight, Ren saw that her suspicions had been correct. The green had large groups of people littered all over it.

As she drew nearer to Remus' house, a group of boys noticed her and started wolf-whistling at her.

Ren couldn't help but roll her eyes. _'Just like the boys at Durmstrang.'_ She thought.

When she reached the steps of number sixteen, Ren pulled off her sunglasses and propped them on her head. As she was doing this a thought hit her.

What if one of Remus' parents answers the door? What would they think to a strange girl turning up on their doorstep requesting to see their son? Oh well, it was too late to turn back now. She ascended the steps and took the large, silver knocker in her hand and banged it against the door three times.

As she waited, Ren began to twirl a strand of hair between her thumb and index finger.

Suddenly the door opened and a woman appeared at the door.

Her hair was light brown and had been curled loosely. She had a small, pointy nose and warm, dark blue eyes. She wore a long, deep purple top that hung loosely around her waist, dark jeans and simple sandals.

"Can I help you?" The woman asked politely, smiling at Ren. Ren suddenly remembered where she was.

"Oh yes, hi-" She began, standing up a little straighter. "-I was wondering if Remus was in? I'm his friend, Ren."

"Ohhh, you're Ren. It was you he went to see sing last night." The woman said cheerily. Ren smiled and nodded. "Remus said you were amazing." The woman added. Ren raised an eyebrow.

"Did he now?" She asked the woman, who nodded.

"Where are my manners? I'm Anne, Remus' mum." She said, sticking out a hand which Ren took. "And in answer to your first question, yes he is. But he's still in bed." Anne said, rolling her eyes.

"Still in bed? On a day like this?" Ren asked in mock surprise. Anne laughed.

"Unbelievable isn't it?"

"Quite. Well, I guess I'll come back later then." Ren said.

"Well, I was about to get him up. I'm going to meet my friend for a coffee and I know if I don't get him up now he'll still be in bed when I get back." Anne told her.

"Oh, okay, well I'll just wait here shall I?" Ren asked.

"No, no you must come in. We can't have you burning alive outside, can we?" Anne said, kindly. "In fact, would you like to get him up? I'm running late as it is." Ren looked at the woman in surprise.

"Oh… sure." She said, taking a step inside the house. Ren was grateful for the cool, refreshing air that washed over her.

"Brilliant. Straight upstairs, last door on the left." Anne told her.

Ren felt no need to tell the woman that she knew that already.

"Okay, thanks. I'll see you soon, have a nice day." Ren said as Anne picked up her handbag and headed out the door.

"You too dear, it was lovely meeting you." She said before pulling the door closed behind her.

Ren stood there in silence for a moment before she climbing the stairs and heading towards Remus' room. She paused outside the door.

Should she knock? She decided she would, even if there wasn't much point, seeing as he was apparently asleep. However, after knocking on the door quickly, there was no answer.

"Remus?" She called out gently. Still no answer. Taking a deep breath, Ren opened the door and peered inside.

Remus was lying on his back, fast asleep in bed. One long, bare leg was hanging off the edge and his foot was resting on the floor. He had pushed the covers off the top half of his body and Ren could see his unclad chest.

It appeared Remus slept in either his boxers, or nothing at all.

'_This'll be fun.'_ Ren thought as she entered the room and walked towards the sleeping boy.

She crouched down next to the bed. "Remus?" She said quietly. No reaction. "Remus?" She said again, louder this time. Yet he still didn't stir. "Oi! Remus!" She called, not even bothering to use her inside voice.

However the boy slept on. _'Right Ren, you're going to have to be more creative.'_

Without hesitation, Ren pinched Remus' nose and held it. Precisely seven seconds later, Remus let out a little cough and a splutter and sat bolt upright.

He rubbed his eyes and looked at Ren before doing a double take.

"Ren!" He exclaimed sharply, pulling the cover up to his bare chest as he did.

"Good morning." Ren said, smiling at him.

"What… What're you doing here?"

"Well I believed it to be a wise idea for you to rise before the golden sphere in the sky hits its apex." Ren said. "Oh don't worry, I didn't just sneak into your house. Your mum let me in." She added when Remus continued to stare at her.

"You met my Mum?" He asked, still clutching the sheets to his chest. Ren nodded.

"Lovely woman." She said.

"… Right." He said, slowly.

"Remus?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you naked?" Ren asked, bluntly. Remus' eyes widened and his cheeks coloured.

"What- No!" He said quickly.

"Cos' you look naked." Ren added.

"No, I have boxers on!" He insisted.

"Prove it." Ren said, mischievously. Remus swallowed.

"Prove it? Why?" He asked.

"Well, why not? If we're going to be Friends with Benefits I'm going to see your penis eventually." Ren said, thoroughly enjoying herself. The penny seemed to drop at that.

"I… I can't." Remus said.

"Why not?"

"Because… I," He cleared his throat. "I have a… situation… down there." He mumbled quickly. Ren's brow furrowed.

"Situation? What do you mea- Ohhhhh! Oh Remus, what have you been dreaming about ey?" She asked as the realisation dawned on her. Her eyes twinkled mischievously.

Ren noticed that his awkwardness seemed to drift away once Remus realised that she didn't think his 'Morning Glory' was embarrassing. He sat up a little straighter.

"Well Ren if you must know, I was dreaming about you in that dress." He said, frankly. That caught Ren off guard. "Or what was underneath it, to be more precise." He added.

The stunned expression on Ren's face turned into a sultry smirk.

"Oh well, I'll have to put it right seeing as I'm the cause." She said in an alluring tone.

Before Remus had a chance to respond, Ren's lips were on his. At once their mouths began to move in concord. As if they couldn't get enough of each other. As if to devour each other with their lips, mouths and tongues was the only thing keeping them alive.

Eventually they reluctantly pulled apart, each of them panting heavily. "Now Remus, let's have a look." Ren said, breathlessly.

She pulled away the black covers and saw that he was indeed wearing boxers. Boxers that were tented by a rather prominent erection. "I thought you said 'a little situation'." Ren said, drawing her gaze from the display and back up to his face.

"It was before the kissing." He said, smiling sheepishly. Ren laughed.

"Well I'm honoured I have such an effect on you." She said, moving her hand to the waistline of his boxers, never breaking eye contact as she did so.

She began to tease the offending item down his long legs, revealing him completely. "Impressive." She said, her eyes wide. This caused Remus to grin and lean forward.

He began to kiss her neck, sucking and nipping in certain places that sparked a reaction from Ren. However the moment she took hold of his cock he seemed to loose all trail of thought.

She began to rub him gently and he moaned against her neck, this enticed Ren to continue rubbing his throbbing cock. She moved her left hand and cupped his balls, squeezing them between her fingers gently.

Remus gasped and moaned frantically. The hand wrapped around his cock pumped hard and fast as the other continued to squeeze his testicals. Ren suddenly felt Remus' tongue brush over the flesh of her neck once more and resume its work.

Without warning, the sandy haired boy's hips bucked into Ren's hand, who returned this gesture by rubbing as fast as Remus thrusted.

Ren could tell that his orgasm was building up quickly and all too soon, he came with a feral moan, emptying himself all over Ren's fingers and the bed.

Remus sat up straight and looked at her. They both smiled.

"You hungry?" He asked quietly, his breath tickled her face slightly.

"Starving." Ren told him, in an equally quiet tone.

"Fancy a full English breakfast consisting of bacon, egg, sausage and toast?" He asked, raising a brow.

"I most definitely do."

"Brilliant." Then, as if he was reading her mind, he spoke again. "The bathrooms just next door." Ren smiled again.

"Thanks." She rose from his bead and headed next door.

Ren began to wash her hands, using a generous amount of the peach scented soap. She had to admit, when she decided to visit Remus, she hadn't had that planned.

Once satisfied with her squeaky clean hands, Ren walked back to Remus' room. Upon entering, she saw that Remus had put on a pair of loose black jeans and was currently rifling through his draws. "You alright?" She asked, causing him to look round.

"Yeah, just trying to find a t-shirt. Ah, this'll do." He said, pulling a plain, dark green t-shirt from the top draw.

He quickly pulled it on over his head. "Now, are you ready for the best darn breakfast you've ever had in your life?" He asked intensely. Ren laughed.

"You bet your ass I am!" She said back with an equal amount of enthusiasm.

"Then follow me." He said, walking out the door, Ren hot on his heels.

The two of them walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. "Take a seat." Remus said, gesturing towards the circular table that sat in the far corner of the room, next to a large set of French doors.

As Ren sat down, Remus opened one of the doors and she saw that they lead to a quaint little patio. "Would you like something to drink?" Remus asked, turning to Ren.

"A cup of tea would be lovely." She said.

"Coming right up."

Once he had set the kettle to boil, Remus collected a small pot of sugar from the counter and a glass bottle of milk from the fridge. He bought them back to the table and sat down next to her. "You were amazing last night by the way."

"Oh stop." Ren said with a cheeky smile. Remus laughed.

"No you really were." He said.

"I'm just glad it's over." Ren told him.

"Why?"

"It was just so stressful. Mum was driving me nuts."

Remus chuckled as the kettle began to whistle. He jumped up and went to tend to it. He pulled two mugs from a kitchen cabinet, one deep blue and the other forest green. Then, after placing a teabag in each of them, poured boiling water into them.

After he had finished making the tea, Remus brought the mugs back to the table, placing the green one in front of Ren.

They both added milk and sugar before Ren spoke again. "So, I met Lily Evans today." She told Remus, who's eyes widened as he took a gulp of tea.

"Really? Where?" He asked.

"In this bookshop in Diagon Ally."

"Typical that you'd find Lily in a book shop. What did you think of her?"

"She's rather short." Ren said. Remus smiled at her.

"Anything else?" He questioned.

"Oh she's absolutely lovely, but that was the thing I noticed first." Ren said, grinning at him. Remus just shook his head before standing.

"Right. Well, time for that breakfast."

* * *

Sirius rolled off of the mousy haired girl who was lying beneath him. The two of them lay in silence for about a minute, both panting heavily.

Sirius was the first to move.

He sat up and began to scan the room in search of his underwear. When he spotted them lying next to the wardrobe he rose from the bed and went to retrieve them.

As he was pulling them up he heard the girl sit up.

"Sirius?"

The raven haired boy closed his eyes for a moment, letting out a small sigh as he did. He opened his eyes and turned to face Bertha.

"What's up?" He asked. The stout girl was sitting up, holding the pink bed sheets to her chest, and staring at him. Her limp shoulder length hair was messy and her face was free of its usual scowl.

"Are you leaving?" She asked. Sirius didn't answer straight away, but nodded after a few moments.

The scowl was now back. "Why?" She asked, indignantly.

"Because…" Sirius racked his brains. "Because I promised Moony I'd go over to his." He told her.

"Oh, okay." Bertha said, her tone was less hostile so Sirius continued to search for his clothes. When the hunt was over and he had re-dressed, Sirius walked over to Bertha, who was still in bed, and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "Thanks." He said.

Bertha just nodded. "Can I use the Floo?" Sirius asked.

"Sure." She said. Sirius muttered another word of thanks and left the room.

That had been just what he had needed to relieve himself. After seeing Ren in that fucking dress the night before, he knew there was no way in hell he could of gone home alone.

Thankfully Bertha had been available, and although the sex hadn't been bad, Sirius was still slightly unsatisfied. But drastically more satisfied then he had been before hand.

For the first time in a while, Sirius had kept his eyes shut for the majority of the time.

Not without reason though.

He had been imagining Ren beneath him, whimpering and moaning his name as he thrusted into her. When he had opened his eyes and found himself looking into Bertha's dull blue eyes instead of Ren's chocolate brown, he couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed.

He strolled down the hall and hurried into the kitchen, deciding he might as well call in on Remus after all.

After picking a handful of Floo powder he stepped into the large brick fireplace. Despite its size, Sirius still found himself hunched over as he threw the powder into the fireplace and called out "Sixteen Maple Drive."

With a whoosh, Sirius felt himself being transported to the Lupin residence.

When the sensation had drowned away, Sirius opened his eyes and saw that he was now standing in the fireplace of the Lupin's cosy living room. As he stepped out onto the hearth and brushed himself down, Sirius could hear music he recognised as Otis Redding coming from the kitchen.

As he approached the kitchen, Sirius could just make out voices. However due to the music he couldn't make out what they were saying.

The smell of frying bacon suddenly hit Sirius.

'_Holy shit.'_ He thought as he inhaled the smell. Remus' bacon was something else.

Sirius peered into the kitchen and saw that not only was Remus cooking bacon, he had a whole breakfast on the go!

Remus himself was standing by one of the French doors that lead to his garden and was chatting idly to someone who Sirius couldn't make out. For all he knew, it could be one of Remus' parents.

But still, the thought that he maybe should of let Remus know he was popping in didn't cross Sirius' mind once as he strolled into the kitchen and over to his friend.

"Morning Moony." He called out over the music, causing Remus to spin around quickly.

"Sirius?" He asked, obviously confused as to what he was doing in his house. "Erm, hey." He said as Sirius reached him. "Not to sound rude, but what are you doing here?" Remus asked.

"Can't a guy stop by his friend's house and…" But Sirius trailed off as he saw who was standing outside.

There, taking a drag from a cigarette stood Ren. She looked unbelievably sexy in the simple top and jeans. The long, dark hair which Sirius had fantasised about pulling as he fucked her from behind, hung over one shoulder.

"Alright, Sirius?" She asked before exhaling the smoke. "I didn't know you'd be stopping by." She added with a smirk.

"Neither did I." Remus said, causing Ren to smile.

"Oh-" Sirius snapped himself out of his daze. "-Well I just thought I'd see how Moony was doing." He said.

Ren merely raised a well sculptured brow. "If I had known that he was in the company of such a beautiful woman I wouldn't have disturbed him." Sirius added.

That was a blatant lie and both Sirius and Remus knew it. If anything, Ren being there would have encouraged him to come more.

"Well don't feel like you have to leave on my account." Ren said, smiling.

"Yeah, we've got plenty of food if you're hungry." Remus said. Sirius turned to his friend and smiled. He really did appreciate that, he was starving.

"If you're sure." Sirius said.

"Brilliant." Ren said, stubbing out her cigarette. She walked back inside and picked up a mug from the table. "Cup of tea?" She asked Sirius, who nodded. "Do you want one, Remus?"

"Please." He said.

She walked over to the kettle, which had already been boiled, and turned back to Remus.

"Where are the teabags?" She asked him.

"In the jar next to the kettle." He told her. As she started to pour water into three mugs, Sirius couldn't help but stare at her.

He had slept with _plenty _of girls in his time, but if he could get Ren into bed Sirius had a feeling he would die happy.

"Nice to see you're making yourself at home." Sirius called out to her.

She just turned to the boys and smiled. Remus rose from the table and headed over to the stove. Sirius now noticed that sausages were being grilled, and Remus was now cracking eggs into another frying pan.

As he was doing this, Ren had transferred the three tea filled mugs to the table and had sat down on Sirius' right.

The two of them began to add milk and sugar to their mugs as Remus continued tending to the food.

"So Padfoot," He began. "What got you out of bed this early?" Sirius took a gulp of tea before answering.

"Well actually, I never made it into my own bed." He smirked.

"And why's that?" Ren asked, watching him as she stirred her tea. Sirius flashed her his winning smile.

"I went straight to Bertha's from your show." He said, nonchalantly.

"Ohhh, who's Bertha? Is she your girlfriend?" Ren asked, her eyes glistening mischievously. Sirius opened his mouth to answer but Remus beat him to it.

"Sirius doesn't have girlfriends." He said, not drawing his attention away from the meal. Sirius nodded, a smile on his face.

"Fair enough." Ren said quietly before taking a gulp of tea.

"Speaking of your show, you were fantastic." Sirius said to her. She smiled at him, blushing slightly.

"Oh, thanks." Ren said. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."

Just as Sirius was about to respond with a well placed compliment, a thought struck him.

"Those two old women were there!" He blurted out, loudly.

"… Who?" Ren asked, her brow furrowed.

"Those two old women! What were their names? Erm… Oh yeah, Dorothy and Margaret!" Ren almost choked on her tea.

"The orgy ones?!" She questioned as she placed her mug on the table. Sirius nodded. He was about to elaborate when something caught his eye.

Just above Ren's collarbone, at the bottom of her neck was a purple mark. A mark that looked very much like a love bite.

"What's that?" Sirius asked before he could stop himself, pointing at her neck. Ren furrowed her brow and looked down.

"What's what?" She was looking over her top as if she was trying to detect a stain.

"That thing on your neck." Sirius said.

"What?" Ren asked, her hand shooting to her neck. When she had found the mark she began to trace it with her fingers. "I have no fucking idea." She murmured.

"What's going on?" Remus asked suddenly, placing a plate of buttered toast on the table.

"Ren's got something on her neck." Sirius said. By something, he meant a love bite. He knew exactly what it was seeing as he had given plenty himself.

"Hmm, weird" Remus said simply, as he inspected Ren's neck. He then straightened and moved back to the stove in order to finish breakfast.

'_He acted way too casually.'_ Sirius couldn't help but think. Ren was now examining the mark in the reflection of the back of a spoon.

"Yeah, weird." She said. She placed the spoon down on the table and helped herself to a slice of toast. Sirius said nothing but followed suit.

Five minutes later the food had been served up and Remus, Ren and Sirius were tucking in to the long awaited breakfast. Sirius had purposely edged his chair closer to Ren's so they would often find themselves brushing elbows.

Not that Ren seemed to notice.

Suddenly the steady conversation, which had been flowing pleasantly throughout the meal, was interrupted by a loud shout coming from the living room.

"MOONY?"

"Who the fuck is that?" Ren asked, with a furrowed brow and her fork poised in mid-air. Before either Sirius or Remus could venture a guess and respond to her question, James head popped through the kitchen door.

"Morning Moony, have you seen Sirius?" He asked, walking into the kitchen. He then spotted the rest of the party. "There you are, you bastard!" He exclaimed loudly. "Wormtail, he's in here!"

Peter wandered into the kitchen just as James spotted Ren.

"Miss Ren, I didn't expect to see you here. What a lovely surprise." He said, giving her a big smile which Ren returned.

"I'm full of them James." She said.

"I bet you are." James replied. "Like your singing for example. I didn't expect that."

"Oh, so you expected me to be terrible?" Ren asked, her eyebrow raised.

James paused, looking slightly dumbstruck. He opened his mouth, obviously trying to think of an answer that would get himself out of this hole.

"Well now it looks like I did." He said, causing the group to laugh. James shrugged and plonked himself down in one of the two remaining chairs and picked up a piece of toast. Peter did the same.

"So why were you looking for me?" Sirius asked James as they ate.

"Hm?" James said, looking up at Sirius and abruptly dropping the sausage he had been trying to steal from Remus' plate.

"I said, why were you looking for me?" Sirius repeated.

"Oh, well we Floo called Bertha and she seemed royally fucked off. She said you'd be here." James told him. He was about to resume his attempt of stealing the sausage when Sirius spoke again.

"Yeah I figured that much out, what I mean is why? Whenever I'm at a bird's house you normally just leave me to it."

Ren suddenly cleared her throat and the four boys turned to her.

"Don't mind me. I just wanted to make sure that statement wasn't expanded." She said. Sirius grinned at her and winked.

"Because Padfoot," James began. "The four of us agreed to go to London today, remember?" Both Remus and Peter exchanged confused glances.

"When did we agree to this?" Peter asked.

"Oh well, by the four of us I guess I meant Sirius and I. We must have decided on your behalf." James said, shrugging.

"Fair enough." Peter said, taking another piece of toast.

"I probably won't be coming." Remus said. "Ren and I were going to spend the day together."

"Well bring her along!" James said, cheerily.

"Yeah, bring me along!" Ren said in an equally happy tone. Remus turned to her and raised an eyebrow.

"Do you really want to spend the day with the four of us?" He asked sceptically. Ren grinned at him and nodded.

"Looks like you're going to have to come with us after all, Moony." Sirius said, patting Remus on the back. _'Or you could leave Ren with me.'_ Sirius couldn't help but think. He then turned to James.

"So what pub was it you wanted to go to?" He asked his friend.

"It's called the Dog and Duck… or the Duck and Dog. One of the two." James said. "They have one of those television things showing that Muggle game, football." He added, simpering slightly.

Sirius rolled his eyes.

"James has recently fallen in love with football. I suppose you could call it the Muggle equivalent of Quidditch." He told Ren, who laughed.

"I think my Dad told me about it once. Isn't it just kicking a ball around a field?" She asked. James turned his head sharply and gawped at Ren.

"Just kicking a ball around a field?!" He asked dramatically. However Sirius, Remus and Peter began to interrupt the rant before it had even begun.

"Come on mate, don't start." Peter said in a pleading tone. James pouted and sighed.

"Fine." He said. "Women just don't get football." Ren raised an eyebrow.

"If it gives me mood swings like that I think I'd like to keep it that way." She said, causing the three boys to laugh. James even couldn't help grinning slightly.

"Right, I'll tidy this lot up and then we'll go, alright?" Remus said, rising from his seat again and beginning to collect some of the plates. Ren followed suit but Remus waved her off. "Sit down Ren." He told her.

"Make me." She said with a grin. The two of them collected the remaining crockery and headed to the other end of the kitchen to wash up.

Sirius found himself staring as Ren's arse. He just wanted to feel it. To cup it, to squeeze it, to slap it-

"Padfoot?"

Sirius jumped slightly and turned to James and Peter, both of whom were staring at him with raised eyebrows.

"Close your mouth Padfoot, you'll catch a fly." Peter said. Sirius did so.

"Sorry, it's just…" He sighed. "Look at her!" He said in a low voice, motioning over to Ren. "She would be the most amazing shag ever but she won't fucking sleep with me!"

James and Peter just continued to stare at him.

"Yeah I bet you're going through hell." James said.

"Oh fuck off."

"No."

"It's never taken me this long to get anyone into bed!" Sirius whined.

"Well you always say you like a challenge." Peter said, taking a gulp of tea.

Sirius sighed and sat back in his chair. He turned back to Remus and Ren and watched as they both laughed at something. Sirius didn't know what because the music was still playing loudly.

"Yeah I suppose you're right Wormtail." He said, not taking his eyes of the brunette who was now wiping her hands on a stripy tea towel.

When the Ren and Remus rejoined the group, James began to speak.

"Right, so we're going to be walking to the pub-"

"So you know where it is?" Ren asked.

"The general area." James said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Okay everyone, get your shit together. We're leaving in five." James said, clapping his hands together and rising from the table.

"How motivational." Ren said once James had left the room.

A few minutes later, the group had congregated in the foyer. "Has anyone seen my bag?" Ren suddenly asked.

"Didn't you bring it downstairs?" Remus inquired. That caught Sirius' attention. They had been upstairs together, and that begged the question; Doing what exactly?

"I thought I did but it wasn't in the kitchen." Ren said. "I'll go check upstairs."

Once again, Sirius found himself staring at Ren's arse as she bounded up the stairs.

"Upstairs, ey?" Sirius heard James ask. He turned to face the others and saw Remus shrug.

"She woke me up this morning. No big deal." He said.

"Oh yeah? And how did she do that, may I ask?" James questioned, his hazel eyes twinkling mischievously.

"Well if you must know, she cut off my air supply." Remus told them. Sirius couldn't help but grin as both James' and Peter's faces fell.

"… She wha-"

"Got it!"

The four boys turned and watched as Ren trotted down the stairs, now holding a small brown satchel. Sirius felt sure he wasn't the only one watching as he boobs bounced slightly with every step she took.

"Where was it?" Remus asked as she rejoined the group.

"On the desk." She told him as she placed the strap over her shoulder.

"I hate to break up this mothers meeting, but we are now four and a half minutes behind schedule!" James said in a flustered tone. Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"Prongs, since when have you ever followed a schedule?" He asked.

"I don't," James said, opening the front door. "I was just trying to imagine what it would be like to as organised as Evans." He added as the group trekked out of the door and down the steps into the burning sun. Remus remained on the porch in order to lock the door.

"Oh, I met Lily this morning!" Ren suddenly exclaimed. The three boys standing around her all stared at her in surprise.

"You met her?" James asked and Ren nodded in response. "What did you think? Did she mention me?"

It took every fibre of Sirius' being to not roll his eyes.

"Kind of." Ren said as Remus joined them. "She's a lot shorter than I imagined."

"Good things come in small packages." James said with a smile as the group began to walk.

"Except boobs." Sirius said from the back of the group causing everyone to turn around and face him. "Boobs are better when they're big." He said, holding his hands over his chest and groping an imaginary pair of boobs.

James and Peter both laughed, and Remus rolled his eyes. However Sirius only had eyes for the smirk that had graced Ren's face.

**What do you think? Review pleeeaaasssseeeee! :D**

**Evie x**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello again :) Before you read on I just want to apologize for the shortness of this chapter. It's just a little filler from Remus' POV. But a short chapter is better than no chapter right? Anyway, don't worry because things really start kicking off in the next chapter because the group will be returning to Hogwarts! :D I hope that will make up for this because in all honestly I'm really no that happy with it -.-**

**Anyways, enjoy!**

**P.S. I want to thank the people who reviewed the last chapter, I got rather teary eyed :')**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing... Still**

Perfectly Content  
_Chapter 8_

"Prongs, I thought you said you knew where this place is!" Sirius carped from the back of the group where he was walking with Ren and Remus.

The five teenagers had been walking for the best part of an hour and a half. Now under normal circumstances they probably wouldn't have been complaining, but with the scorching hot sun frying each of them, they were beginning to grow tired of walking through the crowded roads.

Remus took in the busy London street and sighed.

"I said I knew the general area." James attempted to reason, turning to face them from his position at the front of the group.

"And is this the general area?" Ren asked.

"I have no fucking idea."

Ren, Sirius and Peter all sighed as well as Remus this time.

"Oh for the love of Merlin." Ren mumbled, suddenly breaking away from the group. "What is it with men and asking for directions?" Remus heard her say to herself as she stalked towards a woman sitting on a nearby bench.

The boys watched as Ren asked the woman for something, and although none of them could make out the audio of the conversation due to the hustle and bustle of the people around them, Remus knew she was asking for directions.

They watched as the woman started pointing back down the way they came while explaining something to Ren.

"So apparently we're heading in the complete wrong direction." Ren said upon returning to the others.

"Nice one Prongs." Sirius quirked, earning him a punch in the shoulder from James.

"So where do we need to go?" Peter asked.

"Back down that way, take a couple of rights, a couple of lefts, something like that." Ren said, shrugging.

"That sounds promising." Remus said with a smirk.

"Well it's better than Christopher fucking Columbus over there leading us Merlin knows where!" Ren argued, pointing at James.

"Oi!"

"She's got a point Prongs. Your sense of direction has never been anything special." Remus said, turning to James.

"Yeah, remember that time when-" Peter began, only to be cut off by James.

"Okay! Okay, we don't have to go into this."

"Oh I think we do Prongs."

"No Padfoot, we don't! We've established that I'm shit with directions, not let's move on."

"Fine, fine, if you insist." Sirius said, grinning at his friend.

"Look, I vote we find any pub and have something to eat." Remus inputted.

"I'm with Moony." Sirius said.

"Same."

"Me too."

Everyone turned to James and watched him, expectantly. He shrugged.

"The game's probably over by now anyway." He said, nonchalantly.

The group set off again, attempting to follow the directions Ren had been given, however half an hour later they were still no closer to finding a pub in which they could eat in.

They were all slowly melting away. The sun was beating down like a furnace and there was no breeze to lighten its fiery breath.

Jackets had been shed, and Sirius had even gone as far as to divest himself of the t-shirt that had been clinging to his body with sweat. It now rested over his left shoulder.

Remus turned his head from his spot Peter and the topless Sirius. Ren was a meter or two behind the boys, having stopped to light a cigarette. However she hadn't started walking again and was now cleaning her sunglasses with the corner of her shirt, cigarette in mouth.

"You alright, Ren?" Remus called out to her.

James, who had taken the lead, stopped and turned around, as did Peter and Sirius. They all watched as she replaced her sunglasses on her nose.

"Well in actual fact I think I'm dying. But don't worry, I'll do it quietly." She called back. Peter and James chuckled.

"Why don't you take a leaf out of my book and take your shirt off?" Sirius asked, smirking. He walked over to her before Remus could stop him.

When he stopped in front of her, Ren looked up at him with a raised brow, clearly unimpressed. "Okay, that's a no then?"

"What do you think?" Ren asked rhetorically. Sirius chuckled.

"Well let me carry you then."

Ren's eyebrows furrowed, indignantly.

"Excuse me?" She asked.

"Come on, if you're dying I insist." Sirius said. Ren looked conflicted, as if she was tempted by the prospect of not having to walk anymore. "Come on. You know you want to."

Ren sighed.

"Fine, but only because I'm dying." She said. Sirius let out a triumphant grin.

"So how do you want to do this? Over my shoulder? Bridal style?-"

"Will you two get a fucking move on? We're all dying as well but you're not offering to carry us!" James yelled impatiently. The look both Ren and Sirius shot him was priceless. Remus couldn't help but laugh.

"Piggy back?" Ren asked, turning back to Sirius.

"Piggy back it is!" Sirius said. "Wormtail, hold this will you?" He threw his shirt over to Peter before the boy could answer.

"Right, bear with me." Ren said.

Remus watched her move so she was standing behind Sirius and place her small hands on his bare shoulders, cigarette still between the fingers of her right hand.

He registered the slight smirk that played over Sirius' lips at Ren's touch. "Ready?" She asked. Sirius steadied his legs and moved his arms so he was ready to catch her.

"Ready."

"Okay… One, two-" Ren paused. "Three!"

She jumped and Sirius grabbed her long legs. She wrapped them around his waist and her arms hung loosely around his neck. "Whew, that went well." She took a drag from her cigarette then offered it to Sirius who accepted. She pulled it away and the two of them blew out puffs of smoke.

"We're good Prongs." Sirius called to James. The two of them rejoined the group and the hunt for the pub continued.

"You know," Ren began as they walked, her legs swinging as Sirius walked. "We could have just gone to my Parents pub. At least we know where it is."

Sirius let out a bark of laughter as James turned back to the two of them.

"No, I'm going to find this pub if it's the last thing I do." He said, more to himself than anyone else.

"Well it's been nice knowing you Prongs." Peter said. The group, minus James of course, all laughed.

James suddenly stopped dead. He was staring straight ahead of them, down the busy street. Remus followed his gaze and found what James was staring at.

A pub.

"HA!" James shouted, punching the air in victory.

"Yes but Prongs, is that the right pub?" Sirius asked.

"Who cares? The point is that I've found a pub.!" He took off for the pub at a run. Ren laughed and detached herself from Sirius' back.

"Come on! Race you!" She exclaimed, and shot off after James. She was faster than Remus had expected.

"Come on then lads. Can't be beaten by a girl can we?" Sirius asked with a grin before giving chase. _'Fuck it.'_ Remus thought.

"Come on Wormtail, we might as well."

And with that, Remus began to run. He made very little sound as he ran, just the huffing of his breath. He weaved his way through the crowd and soon caught up to Sirius, his slim legs powering him on.

He glanced at Sirius who was ahead of his by about a meter. Ren was directly in front of his and Remus heard her let out a loud cry of laughter.

Suddenly, Sirius lunged for Ren. Remus watched as he scooped Ren up and threw her over his shoulder, all while still running towards the pub.

Remus couldn't help but grin at the typical Sirius behaviour. Trying to be as hands on with a girl as possible in the hopes of winning them over. Little did Sirius know, Remus had received an amazing Handjob from the very girl he was trying desperately to win over.

All his efforts were for nothing. Ren was Remus' "Um-Friend", and Remus could only imagine the look on Sirius' face if he ever found out.

Sirius slowed when he reached the wooden door of the pub. James had already hurried indoors as Remus joined Sirius and Ren, who was still slung over Sirius' shoulder. "You alright, Ren?" Remus asked her, panting slightly.

"Oh yeah, just enjoying the view." She said as Peter reached them, clutching his side.

"Is-" He paused, catching his breath. "-Is Prongs already in there?" He managed to choke out.

"Yeah, come on." Sirius said, disappearing through the door.

"Is he going to put Ren down?" Peter asked.

"I doubt it." Remus said, before following them in.

The interior of the pub was surprisingly modern, not like the traditional theme of The Dozing Dragon. The tables were all painted white with matching chairs and each table was topped by a fake white rose in a small, glass vase.

There were also large booths lining the walls and opposite the entrance was a large, Muggle television attached to the wall. A group of men were gathered around it, shouting and jeering at the screen.

"Moony!"

Remus turned to his right and saw James, Sirius and Ren sat in one of the booths. He shuffled along the plush seating and found himself next to Ren, who gave his a large grin and a discrete squeeze of his upper thigh.

After Peter had joined them, a fresh-faced woman who looked to be in her early thirties hurried over to them and handed each of them a menu before removing a pad and pen from her pocket.

"Hi, welcome to The George Inn, can I start you off with some drinks?" She asked, politely. As James opened his mouth, Ren beat him to it.

"Can we have five cokes please? All with ice?"

The woman nodded and scribbled the order down.

"I'll be back shortly with your drinks and then I'll take your food orders." She said and tottered off. James had turned to face Ren with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" Ren asked, nonchalantly. "I just thought if your ordering skills were anything like your sense of direction we'd have been here all day."

Sirius sniggered behind his menu and Remus had trouble suppressing a grin. Five minutes later the waitress returned with their drinks. Once she had handed them out she took their food orders before disappearing again.

Conversation started flowing amongst the group and in what seemed like no time at all, their meals arrived.

"So Ren, are you excited about Hogwarts?" James asked as he cut a piece of gammon away from the huge slab of meat on his plate. Ren looked up from her stake and ale pie.

"Very." She said, grinning. "I wish I knew more about it though. So I knew what I'm getting into."

"Have you not read _Hogwarts: A History_?" Remus asked, placing his knife and fork down and picking up his glass.

"Have I read what?" Ren asked, turning to him.

"It's this book about Hogwarts-"

"-Yeah Moony must have read it about a dozen times." Sirius said.

"A dozen more times than you then?" Remus quirked. Sirius only grinned.

"Would I be able to get a copy in Diagon Ally?" Ren asked. Remus nodded in response.

"Of course." He said causing Ren to smiled at him.

"So Prongs," Sirius began after he had swallowed a piece of gammon. Of course both Sirius and James had instantly chosen the same dish; gammon and chips. "What's the situation with the Quidditch team this year?"

"Well since Lara and Sam both left last year we're defiantly going to have some new blood." James said after swallowing a large chip.

"That's a new keeper and chaser then, right?" Sirius questioned, to which James nodded.

"You need a chaser?" Ren suddenly asked. Both boys looked at her.

"You play?" James asked her. Ren nodded.

"Have done all my life?" She said.

"Well it all depends if you're in our house." James told her.

"Your house?"

And so began the house conversation. The boys told her about Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. They told her of the origins, the stereotypes, the common rooms, which caused James and Sirius to happily declare that they had successfully snook into each one ("Gryffindor's is defiantly the best!" Sirius announced).

Ren seemed to drink it all in, asking questions whenever she could.

"So you better be in Gryffindor with us." James concluded, placing his knife and fork down.

"She's sat on a dragon," Remus said. "I'm pretty sure she's got the bravery down."

"You've sat on a dragon?!" Peter asked, perplexed.

"My Dad used to work on a reserve with them." Ren told him. "Hey Sirius, what's that?" She added, pointing over to the bar.

When Sirius turned away, Remus watched as Ren swiftly pinched a chip from Sirius' plate. Sirius turned back just in time to see Ren popping it in her mouth, grinning as she did so.

Remus was now laughing at the look on Sirius' face, as were Peter and James.

"Did you just…" Sirius trailed off, pointing at his plate. Ren shook her head.

"No." She said, innocently.

"Yes you did."

"No I didn't."

"Yes. You. Did." Sirius said, placing his knife and fork down and beginning to tickle her sides.

Ren began to wiggle and squirm away from him, giggling as she did. Remus found that she was now almost on his lap in an attempt to get away from Sirius, her laughter now uncontrollable. "Come on," Sirius said between tickles. "Admit it!"

"Fine! Fine!" Ren choked out. "I stole a chip!" She was now hiding behind her knees, trying to hide from Sirius. When Sirius heard her surrender, he ceased tickling immediately.

"See, that's all you had to do." He said with a cheeky grin as he resumed eating.

Ren's back was now against Remus' chest and Remus could feel her breathing heavily, trying to catch her breath.

"Was that really necessary?" She asked between pants as she shuffled off of Remus.

"Oh of course-" Sirius began, however he was interrupted by a petite girl arriving at the table. She had dirty blonde hair that fell to her shoulders and dark blue eyes.

She stood in front of the group and gave them a tentative smile.

"Erm, hi." She said, quietly. "I'm Zoe, and I was just wondering if-"

"What a beautiful name you have Zoe." Sirius said with a smirk. Remus rolled his eyes before he could stop himself. "I'm Sirius by the way. Would you like me to accompany you outside so we can speak privately?" Sirius said, raising an eyebrow at the girl.

Sirius' confidence and arrogance never failed to amaze Remus. He noticed Ren rolling her eyes and had to suppress a chuckle.

"Not you." Zoe said suddenly, taking the whole group off guard. "Him." She added, nodding towards someone.

Remus, Ren, Sirius and James all turned simultaneously in the direction she had nodded in and found themselves staring at Peter. He looked just as shocked as the others.

"Peter will you shift your head? I'm trying to see who she meant." James said, craning his neck in an attempt to see behind Peter.

"So you're Peter?" Zoe asked, not seeming to register the four bystanders as she gazed at Peter. Peter stared back for a moment but managed to get a hold on himself.

"Uh, yeah, hi." He said with a small smile.

"Look, I know you're with your friends, but I was wondering if you wanted to come for a walk with me? Just around." Zoe said in a hushed tone. Ren, Sirius, Remus and James all turned back to her and stared at her in disbelief, failing to hide their shock.

For a moment, Peter seemed just as in shock at the others but he snapped out of it and turned to his friends.

"Would you guys mind?" He asked them.

Remus found he wasn't able to answer. Neither it seemed, were James or Sirius. Ren looked at each of the three boys before piping up.

"No they don't mind, Pete. You guys go ahead." She said with a smile. Peter grinned at her and shuffled out of the booth. He then joined Zoe and the two of them disappeared through the door.

Even after Peter's departure, not one of the boys could say a word. "I'm guessing that doesn't happen very often." Ren said.

"If by very often, you mean never in history, then yes." Sirius managed to say.

"Well there's a first time for everything." Ren said after a pause.

Remus met James' eyes and the bespectacled boy just shrugged before going back to his meal, and Remus did the same. Only Sirius remained still.

"I'm still slightly confused as to what just happened." He said, slowly.

"Well Padfoot, to put it simply, you just lost a girl to none other than Wormtail." James said as he finished his meal.

"I know that!" Sirius said, turning to James. "What I don't get is how it happened."

"Now that I can't answer." James said.

"Come on Padfoot, let it go." Remus said as he placed his knife and fork neatly on his plate.

"Yeah, hurry up and finish your food so we can get going." Ren added. Remus turned to her.

"Why are you so eager to leave?" He asked.

"Well if James is going to be leading us back we should get a good head start so we can get back before tomorrow."

"Shut up."

**Thanks for reading :) Sorry if there were any mistakes btw, still no BETA :S. Please, please, pleaaasssseeeeeeeee review. They get me in the mood to write :3 I'll hopefully have the next chapter up ASAP.**

**Evie x**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello! :) I hope the wait hasn't been too long. I just quickly wanted to thank everyone who has reviewed and followed the story, you guys are fabulous. I get a little emotional with every review :')**

**Disclaimer: ... I don't even own a car**

**Anyway, on with the story!**

Perfectly Content  
_Chapter 9_

The weeks of summer flew by and in no time at all, Ren found herself being rudely awoken by her Mother drawing the curtains on the sunny morning of September the first.

"Wake up love, the sun's came to see you." Violet sang to her daughter, who was currently curled up in a ball with the cover pulled over her head.

Ren let out a moan and mumbled something inaudible. "English please, Ren." Violet said. Ren let out another groan as she emerged from under the cover and sat up.

"I said, early morning cheerfulness can be extremely obnoxious." Ren looked up at her Mum who was standing at the end of her mattress.

"Obnoxious? You used to love it when I woke you up with that." Violet said with mock hurt, placing her hand over her heart.

"Yes well I'm not ten anymore, Mother." Ren said as she rubbed her eyes. Violet just chuckled.

"Could have fooled me." She said.

Ren sent her a disgruntled look before kicking off the covers and rolling out of bed. Literally. One of the positives of having a mattress on the floor was that minimum effort is required to get out of bed. Violet just watched her with an incredulous expression. "I really do find it hard to believe you're my eldest." She said as Ren heaved herself off the ground.

She now towered over her Mum and Violet smiled up at her. "Well it was a lot easier getting you up than it was Vanessa." Ren chuckled and picked up a hair brush from her desk.

"I bet it was," She said, turning back to Violet. "How did that go?"

"You don't want to know." Her Mum said before clapping her hands together briskly. "Right, be ready and downstairs within the hour." She said and she walked across the room and down the stairs.

Ren continued to attack her hair with the brush as she debated whether she was more excited or nervous about finally staring Hogwarts. Most of her nerves had been ebbed by the fact she knew she had some friends going with her.

Ren had met up with Remus, James, Peter and Sirius a number of times over the summer. Although she had seen Remus more than the others she still felt confident in calling them her friends.

On the occasions in which Ren and Remus had met up alone, they normally ended up putting their new relationship as 'um-friends' to good use. They were still yet to have full on sex but their little sessions full of fellatio and oral had been more then satisfying for the both of them. _'God no wonder people called me a slut.'_ Ren thought as she headed downstairs for a quick shower.

Not only had Ren met up with boys over the summer, but she had also met up with the girl from the bookshop, Lily.

The two of them had spent an afternoon in a London coffee shop and Ren had quickly come to realise what a lovely person Lily was. Ren could understand why James was infatuated by her.

Forty five minuets later, Ren was doing a final check to make sure she had everything she needed. When she was positive that she had, she levitated her trunk down the stairs and into the hall.

She propped it up against the wall, next to Ollie's trunk and made for the kitchen. Upon entering, Ren was greeted by her parents, each with a cup of tea in hand.

"Morning, Ren." Her Dad said, cheerfully.

"Morning." Ren said with a smile.

"There's a bacon butty on the side for you." He said, placing his mug on the worktop. "I'm going to go and see if Nessa's any closer to being ready. The Knight Bus is going to be at the Leaky in half an hour." Emmett made his way to the stairway as Ren remembered something.

"Dad, could you bring Spinx down from my room? I forgot him." Ren said after swallowing a mouthful of her sandwich.

"How can you forget something that makes so much noise?" Emmett asked, to which Ren just shrugged in response as she took another bite. Emmett sighed as he headed up the stairs.

Violet said something about going to help him and disappeared up the stairs shortly after.

Ren finished her sandwich and began to boil the kettle with the intention of making herself a hot cup of tea when Ollie can bounding down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"You alright, Ol?" Ren asked him. He gave her an impish grin and nodded eagerly. "Excited?"

"Yeah! I met a boy called Billy in Diagon Ally and he said that the staircases move!" Ollie said, looking as if he was about to burst with excitement. Ren smiled at her brother.

"Remus told me that there's a huge tree called The Whomping Willow that can attack people with its branches." She told him, holding back her laughter at the look of complete awe on her brother's face.

"Really?" Ollie asked, enthusiastically.

"Yeah." Ren said, still smiling at him. Ollie had always been full of curiosity and desperate for adventure.

"Ren, we should see how close we can get without it hitting us!" He said, joyfully.

"I'll hold you to that." Ren said, pouring the now boiling water from the kettle into a mug. "Do you want a hot chocolate?"

"Yes please." Ollie replied.

"Go and fetch me a mug then." Ren said as she picked up the hot chocolate powder up from a shelf.

Ten minutes later, Ren and Ollie were perched on the kitchen worktop, each with a mug in hand, when Vanessa entered the kitchen followed by Emmett.

"I still don't see why I couldn't take them." The blonde was saying.

"Because Nessa, when are you ever going to need a pair of heels at school?" Emmett asked, obviously frustrated.

"I don't know. I just want to be prepared." Vanessa said, indignantly. Ren just rolled her eyes and turned back to her brother.

"So do you have everything?" She asked him. Ollie drew his eyes from Vanessa and nodded at her. "Are you sure?" She questioned.

"Positive." He said.

"All your books?"

"Yep."

"Basil?"

"Yep."

Basil was Ollie's pet rat. On each of their eleventh birthdays, Emmett and Violet had bought each of their children a pet. Ren had gone for Spinx the owl while Vanessa had chosen a white Persian cat that she had named Ivory, and Ollie had gone for a large, fat brown rat. Much to Vanessa's dismay.

"Wand?" Ren asked. Ollie was about to answer, but paused.

"Be right back." He said, and leapt off the worktop and bounded up the stairs, past his Mother who was re-entering the kitchen.

"Where's he off to?" Violet asked.

"To get his wand." Ren said, placing her empty mug down.

"His wand? I swear, that boy would forget his head if it wasn't screwed on." Emmett said, shaking his head. "Ren, will you give me a hand getting these trunks down?" He then went on to ask.

"Sure."

The two of them levitated the luggage down to the kitchen and when Ollie re-entered, wand in hand, the family were ready to go.

They journeyed up to The Leaky Cauldron and out into the dingy street, dragging their trunks behind them. Emmett stuck out his wand arm and a large, purple, triple-decker bus appeared out of no where with a loud 'BANG'.

As Ren and her family boarded the bus, she saw a few other people with trunks and cages that she guessed were heading to Kings Cross Station as well. They headed to the upper level of the bus and Ren noticed that all the comfy looking armchairs were lying on the floor.

"Mum, why are all the chairs on the floor?" Ollie asked, tugging his Mothers hand.

"You'll find out soon enough." Violet said. "Now for the love of Merlin, hold on."

* * *

"Shit! Hide me!" Sirius yelped, and ducked behind James and Remus just as Bertha Jorkins walked past. "Did she see me?" He asked, poking his head out from behind James' shoulder.

"…No." Remus said, and after surveying the area for himself, Sirius emerged from behind his friends.

"What the fuck was that?" Peter asked.

"What the fuck was what?"

"The dive behind James as if someone had set off a live grenade." Remus said. Sirius just stared at Remus.

"I'm sorry, a what?" He asked

"What he means is, why did you hide from Bertha?" James asked, impatiently.

"Ohhh," Sirius said. "She's just been really clingy these last couple of weeks."

"And we all know how much you hate it when they get clingy." James said.

"Which they always do." Peter added.

"Exactly." Sirius said. "I'm glad you guys understand." He added, earning an eye roll from Remus.

Sirius looked around the platform. It was full of people, all of which were saying goodbye to family members, loading luggage onto the scarlet train, or greeting their friends and telling them stories of their summer.

"Merlin, Padfoot look who it is."

Sirius turned to James and followed his gaze. He was met with the sight of his younger brother, Regulus Black, looking just as haughty as ever.

"Fan-fucking-tastic." Sirius said, bitterly. He didn't actually have anything against his brother until he had just sat back and watched as their Mother had disowned his older brother. They had even been quite close as children. Regulus had admired Sirius and had taken it in his stride to make his brother proud. However when he had been sorted into Gryffindor, Sirius knew that his parents had begun to poison Regulus' thoughts on his older brother.

But even as the two brothers had grown distant, Regulus showed very similar traits to those of Sirius. He seemed to have picked up on using his good looks to woo women, just like Sirius, and he showed great interest in Quidditch, just like his brother.

Sirius scowled and turned away from his brother, staring down the opposite end of the platform. As he did so, his eyes landed on someone who he would much rather stare at then he snooty little brother.

Ren was standing with her family a few meters away from the boys. She looked fucking hot in a loose red dress that fell to her mid-thigh, and her black leather jacket which she had worn on a number of the occasions in which he had seen her. On her feet were a scruffy pair of black converse, which made the outfit look more casual. Her brown curls fell over her shoulders, and she wore her Ray-Ban sunglasses.

Once again, Sirius found himself admiring her long, toned, tanned legs. He had never seen a pair like them. They seemed to go on forever.

"Guys, look who it is." He said. The three boys soon found who Sirius was referring to, and all stood in silence for a moment, surveying her.

"Come on." Remus said, and they headed over to greet her. Ren saw them coming and smiled, removing her sunglasses as she did.

"Hiya." She said, gleefully. The boys all greeted her with a hug, even Peter. "Mum, you remember Remus, James, Sirius and Peter right? Oh yeah, Dad this is Peter."

They all exchanged polite greetings before Ren went on to introduce her brother, Ollie, and sister, Vanessa, to the boys.

Sirius noticed that, despite the fact she was wearing way too much make-up, Vanessa wasn't half bad looking. No where near as hot as her sister but hot nevertheless. Had he not been so determined to sleep with Ren, Sirius would most likely have taken a crack at Vanessa. If she was a little older that is.

"You still up for sitting with us?" James asked Ren, to which she nodded.

"Defiantly, but Ollie is going to be sticking with me if that's okay." She said, placing a hand on Ollie's shoulder. The young boy smiled shyly.

"That's perfectly fine." Remus said, smiling back at Ollie. Not that Sirius minded having the kid with them, but it would make it a lot harder to hit on his sister with him around.

"Is it true that there's Centaurs in the forest?" Ollie suddenly asked, eagerly. Sirius couldn't help but crack a smile. Maybe this kid wouldn't be so bad.

"Yeah, and unicorns." James said, and Ollie's eyes widened and he looked up at Ren, who grinned down at him.

"Right, you should probably go and get seats." Ren's Dad, Emmett, said. Violet let out a sigh.

"Yes, I suppose you should. Come on; let's get your luggage on the train." She said. Just as Ren bent at the knee in order to grab the trunk lying at her feet, Remus stopped her.

"No, we'll sort this out. You say goodbye to your parents." He said. So as the Gallaghers said their goodbyes, the four teenage boys split the luggage between them and loaded it onto the train's luggage carriage.

James took Ollie's trunk plus a small cage which Sirius guess housed a rat. Peter a wicker cat basket and an owl cage. Remus took Ren's trunk and Sirius took Vanessa's. Sirius moved to pick up an old, battered guitar case which had numerous stickers stuck on it that lay at Ren's feet, but Ren stopped him, saying that she wanted to keep it with her.

He smiled at her and proceeded to heave the heavy trunk onto the train.

The boys then stood back and watched as they said their final goodbyes. Vanessa was the first to disperse, announcing she'd seen a girl she had met over the summer. Then, after Violet had given her final hug, Ollie and Ren joined the boys.

"Come on then." Ren had said, as she held on tight to her brother's hand so she didn't lose him amongst the throng of people.

As the small party headed for the train, Sirius saw a sight that made his blood turn cold. His Mother and Father, Walburga and Orion Black, were now standing with their youngest son saying their farewells. They were not three meters away from where Sirius and his friends stood, unable to move due to a small blockage.

"Shit." Sirius murmured, quietly. Only Ren seemed to hear him and she turned around to face him, looking concerned.

"What? Are you alright?" She asked. Sirius looked at her, but before he could answer, a cold voice reached his ears.

"Well if it isn't the blood traitor brat." It said.

Sirius turned to see his Mother staring at him, venomously. If looks could kill Sirius would be six feet under by now.

"Mother, how lovely to see you." Sirius grimaced. "And Dad and Reg too. Looks like we're having a family reunion." Sirius could sense the tension that was radiating from his friends. James had taken a step forward and now stood next to his best friend, and Ren, who hadn't even met Sirius' parents before, pulled Ollie closer to her.

"Orion, do you see how he mocks me?" Walburga hissed. Many members of the surrounding crowd had now stopped in their tracks and were watching the confrontation.

Sirius turned to his Father who appeared to be staring at Ren with deep intent. The tall man merely nodded and continued to stare at the girl. Sirius noticed Remus take a step forward. "You've always mocked me! Always been the thorn in my side! And now, you have the audacity to mock me in public you little shit!" Walburga's voice had now risen to a piercing screech.

"For God's sake Mum, there's a twelve year old present! At least have the decency to keep the language clean." Sirius said through gritted teeth. Walburga let out an almost hysterical cackle.

"Why should I care? He's probably a filthy blood traitor, like you. Or worse, a pathetic, lowly, disgusting Mudblood-"

"Don't you dare speak of my brother like that." Ren spat, releasing Ollie's hand and dropping her guitar case to the ground, taking a step forward so she was stood right in front of Walburga, who was staring at the girl who had just interrupted her, indignantly. "Don't you dare, or so help me Merlin, I'll-"

"-You'll what?" Walburga intercepted. "Hex me? I'd like to see you try you mewling wretch!" Walburga snarled. Ren continued to stare gravely at the woman before suddenly giving her a forceful push, causing Walburga to stumble and almost fall to her feet.

At that moment, everyone seemed to break free from their stupors and leap into action. Sirius, James and Remus all rushed forward to grab Ren, who was now advancing towards the woman, while Peter grabbed Ollie and pulled him away. Walburga was now being restricted by Regulus, while Orion took a step towards Ren and grabbed her forearm, roughly.

"I wouldn't try that again if I were you." He murmured, lowering his head to Ren's so he was looking her directly in the eyes.

"Dad, get the fuck off her." Sirius said, attempting to pull Ren away from him. Sirius knew that look in his Fathers eyes. He had often seen it as a child when he had been out with Orion and a young, attractive woman was to walk by.

Still Orion didn't loosen his grip on Ren's arm.

"I would happily do it again if she ever speaks of my brother in such a way again." Ren spat at him, pulling her arm free from Orion's grip. Walburga forced Regulus off her and advanced on Sirius, who made sure Ren was being restricted.

"You disgust me! This is the type of scum you associate yourself with? I never want to see you again! You are no son of mine!" She screeched before taking a step back and turning to Regulus.

"That suits me fine you old bat!" Sirius shouted after her. "See you at school Reg!" He called out as he ushered his friends onto the train.

* * *

"What an interesting start to the year." James said as the train pulled away from the platform. The group was sat in silence in one of the many compartments of the Hogwarts Express.

"Interesting is one word for it." Sirius mumbled.

Remus turned to Sirius who was sitting to his right, leaning against the window. It astounded Remus that Sirius, who was a genuinely nice guy, came from the family they had just encountered.

"Yeah sorry about, you know, pushing your Mum." Ren said, sheepishly. She was sat between James and Ollie, her arm draped around her brother's shoulder. Sirius merely chuckled.

"That's quite alright. I only wish you'd hexed her instead." He said.

"I guess I've always been a little protective of my family." Ren added.

"Yeah, like when Laura Beckett called Vanessa a slag and you punched-"

"Ollie!"

"What?" The young boy looked at his sister, confusion written across his freckled face. Remus couldn't help the grin that now adorned his lips.

"You don't say that word!" Ren said, staring at her brother, her brown eyes wide. Remus now noticed how Ollie's eyes were truly an exact replica of his sisters.

"I was only telling them what happened." Ollie attempted to argue.

"Yeah, I'd like to know what became of this girl." Sirius interjected before Ren could say respond.

"Well, that's not going to happen." She said. "Now if you don't mind," she added as she pulled a book from her bag. "I'm going to ignore you all for a while."

"Ollie, fancy a game of Exploding Snap?" James asked the boy, producing a pack of cards from his rucksack. Ollie nodded enthusiastically.

"Screw Exploding Snap, how do you feel about learning how to play poker, Ollie?" Sirius asked.

"You're not teaching my twelve year old brother to play poker!" Ren interjected.

"I thought you were ignoring us." Sirius quirked. Ren responded with a sneer before returning to her copy of _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_ by Lewis Carroll.

Remus chuckled to himself, and then extracted his own book and beginning to read.

"Woah, hold on! We're all going to have to move. We can't play like this." James said.

Five minutes later, after much shuffling, complaining and an attempt to 'accidentally' touch Ren's arse from Sirius, everyone had been repositioned and were comfy.

Remus was now seated by the window with Ollie on his right and Ren opposite him. To Ren's left sat Sirius, who had James on his other side. Peter sat opposite James, having been convinced to partake in the game once Sirius pointed out that seeing as Ollie had never played before, Peter may stand a chance at beating someone.

However three and a half hours later, Ollie had gone onto not only winning all of the goodies Peter had bought from the trolley, but those of James and Sirius as well.

"I fold." James finally said.

"Same." Sirius added. The two of them threw their cards down and stared at Ollie in disbelief.

"Are you sure you've never played before?" James asked him.

"Never." Ollie said, grinning.

"He's a quick learner." Ren told the boys, still not drawing her eyes from her book.

"I'll say." Sirius murmured.

Remus chuckled. He had put his book away long ago and placed his full attention on the game the moment both James and Sirius had realised that they had underestimated Ollie. Remus wasn't going to miss his two friends, who were so used to winning, lose a game of poker to a twelve year old.

He had also noticed that Ren had been paying more attention to the game than she would care to admit. Although her book had remained open, Remus had seen that her eyes had flitted from the page to the ongoing game. Plus she had failed to turn a page in over ten minutes.

Her eyes would occasionally meet Remus' and they would exchange a small smile. As he watched Ren, who had finally given up on attempting to read and had put her book away, Remus noticed that she seemed to radiate pride. Not that he could blame her for smirking as Ollie tucked into his winnings.

If Remus had a twelve year old brother who had just bested two extremely cocky seventeen year olds, he would no doubt feel an immense sense of pride. In fact, seeing the envious stares from James, Sirius and Peter as well, as Ollie munched on a Cauldron Cake made Remus feel some form of satisfaction. Sweet justice.

"So when do you think we'll be arriving then?" Ren asked, leaning forward and plucking a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans from the pile on Ollie's lap.

"Not sure really. I reckon about an hour and a bit." Peter chirped in.

"Oh, should we be changing into our robes?" Ren went on to ask.

"Will you be changing here?" Sirius inquired before any of the others could answer her question.

Remus watched as Sirius casually draped an arm around Ren's shoulders and plucked a bean from the box she was holding in her lap.

However when he popped the bean in his mouth, the smirk that had graced his lips slid right off and was replaced with a look of utmost disgust. "Ugh! Vinegar!" The group burst out laughing as Sirius wretched and drained his bottle of Pumpkin Juice.

"And in answer to your question," Ren said between chuckles. "No, I'll go and change in the toilet."

"Shame." Sirius spluttered between chokes. Ren rose from her seat and collected her robes which had been stashed away in the overhead rail. While she was doing so, Sirius eventually managed to calm down.

"Where are the toilets?" Ren asked, turning to Remus.

"Straight down the corridor. Just before you head into the next carriage." Remus answered. Ren smiled at him before sliding the compartment door open.

"Thanks, I'll be back in a bit." She said, before disappearing through the door and down the corridor.

Remus rose from his seat and began collecting the uniforms from the rail, and James stood and pulled the curtains that hung over the door shut.

"Do we have to get changed now?" Sirius moaned, leaning back into his seat.

"Yeah, we'll be there soon." Peter said as Remus handed him his robes.

"Come on Padfoot, stop being a baby and get changed." James said.

"Oh enlighten me Prongs, how am I acting like a baby?" Sirius asked with a smirk.

"Well I'd say the moaning is a contributing factor." Ollie said as he began to untie his converse.

All four of the boys turned to him and stared at him in impressive disbelief. "What?" Ollie asked when he noticed their staring. "I'm just saying what everyone's thinking."

Remus found himself bursting into fits of laughter at the twelve year olds nerve. He handed Ollie his robes and patted him on the back.

"That you are, Ollie."

* * *

Ren let out a frustrated sigh as she perfected the black tie that hung around her neck. Said tie would be replaced with a new one that held her house colours later that evening.

She couldn't help but admit to herself that she was dreading that moment.

The boys had told her that she would have to stand up in front of the whole school and have a dirty old hat placed on her head which would decide her fate. However Sirius and James had tried to convince her you had to answer a Sphinx's riddle. Although in Ren's opinion, standing up in front of the entire student body was just as terrifying as answering a Sphinx's riddle.

Ren was now stood in the train's toilet, straightening the tie in the small square mirror that hung on the wall, dreading the trains arrival in Hogsmeade Station.

'_Well, this is as good as it's ever going to get.'_ Ren thought to herself as she smoothed out the black skirt she was wearing. All in all, the uniform weren't that bad. Better than the blood red robes and furs she had to wear at Durmstrang.

Ren sighed again and gave her curls a final ruffle. She began to fold up her own clothes and place them in her rucksack. She had unpacked and repacked her bag three times now in the hope of delaying the walk back to the compartment. Not because she didn't want to get back to the others, but because on the short journey down to the toilet, Ren had found herself being gawked at by whomever she passed.

Hopefully now she was in her uniform she would blend in a bit more.

Taking a deep breath, Ren pulled back the lock and opened the door. However when she emerged into the corridor, Ren found herself walking straight into someone who must have been waiting for the toilet.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where- Lily?"

Ren was now looking into the emerald green eyes of none other than Lily Evans.

"Ren, hi!" The auburn haired girl exclaimed with a smile. "I was wondering where you were. I didn't see you at the station."

"Oh yeah, I was with the boys." Ren said, to which Lily frowned slightly.

"By boys, do you mean Potter, Black, Lupin and Pettigrew?" She asked. Ren nodded in response.

"And my brother." Lily's eyebrows rose slightly.

"Wow, I bet you're having a fun journey." She said, her tone playful.

"I am, surprisingly. Most of it has been spent watching Sirius and James get their arses kicked at poker by a twelve year old." Ren said, chuckling as she did so. Lily let out a little huff of laughter.

"That does actually sound pretty funny." She said.

"It gets funnier when you find out Ollie's never played poker in his life." Ren added.

The two girls were now laughing loudly, when a large shadow suddenly loomed over them

"What's so funny, Mudblood?" A cold voice asked, causing both Ren and Lily to stop laughing abruptly. Ren turned to see a tall boy standing about a meter away from her and her friend.

The boy had long, golden blonde hair that looked to be pulled back at the nape of his neck. His eyes were a deep shade of blue and all of his facial features seemed to be on the sharp side. Whether it be his nose, chin or cheekbones. He was dressed in his school robes, and Ren saw that he had a green and silver tie tied neatly around his neck.

'_Ah, so this is a Slytherin.'_ Ren thought to herself.

"Nothing that concerns you, Rosier." Lily said, bitterly, her cheeks turning pink. Whether it was out of anger of embarrassment, Ren didn't know, but Ren herself was beginning to feel frustrated at the boy for daring to call Lily something so foul.

"Come on Ren, let's go." Lily added, taking Ren's arm and pulling it slightly, trying to get the brunette to move. However Ren remained rooted to the spot, glaring at the boy.

"Don't call her that." Ren said, causing Lily to look up in surprise.

The boys eyes now settled on Ren, and Ren saw them flicker downwards none too discreetly, lingering on her legs and chest, before finally meeting her eyes with his own. His tongue dampened his lips before he spoke again.

"Who's your friend, Evans?" He asked Lily, not drawing his gaze from Ren, who answered his question herself.

"Ren Gallagher. I'm new." She said.

The boy pushed himself off the window he had been leaning against casually and took a step forward.

"Hm, you don't look like a first year." He said, smirking. Ren didn't even smile.

"You're funny." She said, her face remaining serious. "I'm a transfer student."

"Ah, that would explain it. Well, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Evan. Evan Rosier." He said, sticking his hand out. Ren glanced at Lily briefly before taking it. His grip was firm and Ren found herself pulling away the moment it loosened.

"So Rosier-"

"- Evan, please-"

"-Rosier," Ren paused. "Tell me, why do you feel the need to address Lily in such a vulgar manner?" Ren questioned. Rosier's eyes bored into Ren's, but she refused to look away. The boy merely smiled.

"Because she is one." He said, simply. Shrugging as he did so.

"No, she is infact a Muggle-born witch. Which means she possesses as much magic as you and is in no way your minor." Ren said.

Although she appeared calm on the outside, Ren felt ready to give the arrogant boy a piece of her mind. Rosier just continued to stare at Ren, still smirking.

"If you say so." He said, casually.

"Come on Ren, let's get out of here." Lily said. Ren nodded and the two of them started in Rosier's direction, intending to move past him. However, as Ren slid past him, Rosier took hold of her elbow gently, and leaned towards her. Lily spun around upon noticing her friend had been stopped.

"By the way, Ren." Rosier said in a low, husky voice in her ear. "If you ever find yourself tired of hanging out with," He turned his head and glanced at Lily for a moment before turning back to Ren. "That lot. You're welcome to sort me out. Day-" He leaned in closer "-Or night."

"Oh I hardly think that'll be necessary." Said a voice from in front of the group. Ren and Rosier both turned their heads to see who it was, while Lily spun around quickly in order to do the same.

There, now dressed in his school robes, was Sirius Black.

His shoulder was propped against the window and he was leaning against it in a relaxed manner, his hands stuffed in his trouser pockets. Much like Rosier had been earlier.

The Slytherin had now reluctantly dropped Ren's elbow and leaned back slightly. "You see," Sirius began, pushing himself off the window and strolling towards them slowly. "We Blood Traitors and Mudbloods are a very entertaining bunch, contrary to popular belief." He stopped next to Lily, looked down at her and mumbled a quick "Alright Evans?" to which Lily rolled her eyes.

Sirius looked back to Rosier and smiled brightly at him. Ren had to suppress a giggle. Sirius' casual manner was obviously infuriating the Slytherin.

"Sirius Black. Busy summer I've heard? What with abandoning your family and all." Rosier said, raising an eyebrow. Sirius continued to smile.

"Yeah, turns out they're a bunch of fucking lunatics. I thought I'd make myself scarce before one of them tries to kill me." He said.

"And what a shame that would have been." Rosier said. Sirius grinned again. "Well," Rosier turned to Ren "I'm going to take it upon myself to leave. It's been a pleasure meeting you Ren." He said, and before Ren could protest, Rosier took her hand in his and placed a kiss on her knuckles. He straightened up and smiled at her before turning and walking away.

Ren, Sirius and Lily remained silent until they heard the carriage door close. Ren was the first to speak.

"Are they all like that?" She asked in bewilderment as she wiped her knuckles on her robes.

"Unfortunately, yes." Lily answered. "Right, I better get back to my carriage. The girls will be wondering where I am." She added. "I'll see you later, Ren." The two girls exchanged a quick hug. "See you later, Black." Lily said before turning and walking towards the next carriage.

"What? No hug?" Sirius called after her.

"Nope." She called back.

"I'll tell James you say hi!" He shouted as the door closed behind her.

"Thanks for that, by the way." Ren said to Sirius. The two of them faced each other and smiled.

"No problem. We can't have Rosier sinking his fangs into you now can we?" Sirius asked, smirking.

He took a step closer as the train bumped and swayed, but Ren just assumed that he was steadying himself.

"No we most certainly can not." Ren said. "What made you come down here anyway?"

"Well you were taking a little too long getting changed for our liking, so I volunteered to come looking for you." Sirius said.

"Ever the gentleman." Ren said, smirking.

"Aren't I just? Now come on, let's get you back to the others before you entice any more serpents."

**Sooo how was it? Did you like it? Leave me review telling me what you think... please.**

**Introducing Rosier was fun. As you can probably tell he's kinda going to be the baddie of the story (Boo! Hiss!) I had the hardest time coming up with what he looked like seeing as I couldn't find a physical description of him. ANYWHERE. I just typed his name into DeviantART and went with what he looked like in most of the pictures.**

**And what did you think of Sirius at the end? He reminded me very much of Tony Stark... Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll hopefully have the next chapter up soon. The group will FINALLY be at Hogwarts. Please review :)**

**Evie x**


	10. Chapter 10

**What is this? Another chapter only a number of short days after the last? Trust me, no one is more surprised then me. Before we begin, I just wanted to say a huge massive thanks to the people who reviewed, favourited and followed the story, you guys are my favourite :3 Anyway, I think this is my favourite chapter so far. They're back at Hogwarts :D Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Still own nothing**

Perfectly Content  
_Chapter 10_

Remus glanced around the Great Hall nervously, for what felt like the hundredth time. He was sat at his house table with his fellow Gryffindor's as the students of Hogwarts took their placed at their own tables.

There was still no sign of Ren, Ollie and Vanessa, and Remus was wondering where they were.

He hadn't given much thought as to how they were to be sorted. He doubted that they would be escorted in with the first years. Maybe they were having a private sorting at that very moment and would later join the other students as if they were just late arriving.

Remus' ponderings were abruptly interrupted, however, by Sirius plonking himself down on the bench opposite Remus. He let out a long, weary sigh and rested his head on the table. He seemed exhausted.

"Where did you get to?" James asked from his place next to Remus. Sirius groaned and heaved his head from the deep mahogany wood.

"Yeah, you were behind us in the entrance hall then when we sat down you'd buggered off somewhere." Peter said.

"That Chelsea Bradley pulled me to the side in the Entrance Hall." Sirius mumbled, his elbows propped up on the table. He was rubbing his temple with his fingers and seemed to be thinking over whatever had just happened. Remus' brow furrowed.

"Chelsea Bradley? Do you mean Chelsea Bradshaw?" Remus asked. Sirius clicked his fingers and pointed at Remus, still not looking up at him.

"Bradshaw. That's the one." He said.

Chelsea Bradshaw was a seventh year Ravenclaw student. Remus couldn't deny that she was pretty. She had long, honey blonde hair that framed her heart shaped face due to her centre parting. Nine times out of ten her hair would be curled loosely, and it always looked perfect. Not a strand out of place.

She had crystal blue eyes, a perfect straight nose, creamy, unblemished skin and straight, pearly white teeth that would always see because of the grin that always seemed to be plastered on her face. Despite her obvious good looks and freakishly cheery personality, Remus wasn't particularly fond of her. Her overly preppy behaviour grinded on him. She would always try to motivate her peers, and would take it upon herself to take the lead in group activities.

Plus her tongue was so far up every Professor's arse that Remus was surprised you didn't see it poking out of their mouths.

"What did she want?" James asked Sirius, who was now taking a swig of water from his golden goblet.

"Well," Sirius placed the goblet back on the table. "She wanted to know why I hadn't owled her over the summer. Apparently she was, how did she put it? Oh yeah, 'like, totally devastated' that I didn't make the effort to owl her after our night together."

"You slept with her?" Peter asked.

"I don't know, probably." Sirius said, shrugging. Remus couldn't help but frown slightly.

"How can you not remember if you slept with her?" He asked Sirius, who turned to him with an exasperated look on his face.

"I sleep with a lot of girls, Moony." He said. "Forgive me if I can't remember every single one."

There was a brief silence between the boys before each of them burst out laughing.

"So what did you do?" James asked. "About Bradshaw I mean." Sirius sighed and shrugged his shoulders once more.

"Well she looked as if she was about to burst into tears, so I felt kind of bad. I just said that I had some family issues, you know, stopped me looking like the bad guy. Then I said I'd take her to Hogsmeade to make up for it. That cheered her up."

Sirius picked up his goblet and took another swig of water when he had finished talking.

"Don't you normally try to avoid dates?" James asked, confused at his friends actions.

"Yeah, but she could have been a good shag. Maybe she'll put out again." Sirius told his friends. Before Remus could reply, he caught sight of a swoosh of emerald green robes from the corner of his eye.

The others must have noticed it too, because each of them turned at the same time to see Professor McGonagall exiting a small door behind the high table which Remus knew led to a small antechamber. In one hand she held a three legged stool, and in the other the scruffy old Sorting Hat, and behind her came Ollie, Vanessa and Ren. While she walked to the centre of the raised platform, the three siblings stopped by the wall, clearly awaiting her instruction.

So that's where McGonagall must have pulled them off to after the carriage rides.

The babbling of the students died down once McGonagall had placed the stool down with the Sorting Hat sat on top of it. They seemed to be noticing that this wasn't normally how she entered the hall. She normally entered with a gaggle of trembling first years hurrying after her.

Remus looked over to Ren, who was watching Professor McGonagall intently. She had pulled her hair into the familiar side plait, and Remus saw that was twirling a loose curl between her fingers.

Other students seemed to be noticing the three new students and a hushed murmur washed over them. That was until Professor McGonagall held up her hand for silence.

"Welcome Students." She said. "Now, before we begin with the Sorting of the first years, we first must welcome three new students who are transferring from Durmstrang Institute. I hope that we will all make Oliver, Vanessa and Renee Gallagher feel most welcome here." McGonagall had now extended an arm in the direction of the three students, and if the students attention hadn't been on them before, it was now. "So, we will sort them into their houses and then proceed with the official Sorting." McGonagall stated.

She then turned to face Ren, Ollie and Vanessa. "Oliver, please come forward."

Poor Ollie paled and looked up at Ren, who gave him an encouraging nod. The boy took a tentative step forward and let out a nervous breath. He then walked over to McGonagall and she instructed him to take a seat on the stool, which he did so, gripping the sides. Remus watched as McGonagall placed the hat on his head. Little more then twenty seconds later, the hat opened its stitched mouth and called out;

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Remus found himself cheering loudly along with Sirius, James and Peter. The rest of the hall clapped politely, while the Gryffindor's began to follow the Marauders lead and cheer loudly.

This caused Ollie's freckled cheeks to burn up slightly as he stepped down from the stool. He began to head towards the table after being indicated in the direction by McGonagall. James rose from his space slightly and beckoned the boy over. When Ollie caught sight of them his eyes lit up and he hurried over. Remus and James made a space for him inbetween them which he took gratefully.

"Thanks." He whispered in a breathless voice.

"Anytime mate." James replied. It seemed that James had really taken a shine to the young boy.

"Next, we have Vanessa." They heard McGonagall say once the hall had quietened down.

Vanessa swaggered forward, not needing an encouraging nod from her older sister. She sat gracefully on the stool, and McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on her head. The hat took longer this time. After a full minute and a half, it shouted;

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Once again, the Gryffindor's began to cheer. Vanessa smiled, almost smugly, and flounced over to a group of girls she had already spotted once McGonagall removed the hat.

Remus looked over to Ren again, and this time caught her eye. He gave her a smile he hoped was reassuring. He knew she must be feeling the pressure seeing as both her siblings had been placed in Gryffindor. She smiled back at him and gave him a tentative nod.

"And finally, we have Renee." McGonagall said.

Ren stepped out of the shadows and began walking towards the stool. Remus noticed a number of the boys around him straighten up slightly, no doubt peering at Ren's long legs. She sat on the stool, holding the sides just as Ollie had done, and McGonagall lowered the hat onto her head. But before the woman could even remove her hand from the point of the hat, a loud shout of;

"GRYFFINDOR!" rang out through the hall.

Remus was rather startled. He had never witnessed such a quick decision from the Sorting Hat, but began to cheer along with the others. A huge grin broke out on Ren's face as McGonagall removed the hat. The Marauders had all rose from their seats and were now cheering so enthusiastically, people were now staring at them with concerned faces as they continued to clap pleasantly. Ren hid her face in palm of her hand as she walked over to them, all while giggling slightly.

Suddenly, Sirius clambered over the table, narrowly avoiding stepping on Remus' goblet, and jumped down onto the floor. He ran over to Ren, who had stopped in her tracks. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hoisted her into the air, spinning her in circles, all while still whooping and cheering. Ren was now laughing slightly, but her face burnt red.

"That'll do Mister Black, put her down please." Professor McGonagall called out, sternly, as the students began to laugh at Sirius' behaviour. Behind McGonagall, Remus could have sworn he saw Professor Dumbledore, dressed in robes of peacock blue, chuckling along with the students.

Sirius placed Ren back on the ground and turned to the woman who was still standing by the stool.

"Forgive me, Minerva. I don't know what came over me." Sirius said, innocently.

"Please be so kind as to take a seat." McGonagall said, her lips pursing at Sirius' use of her first name.

"Of course. Come along, Ren." Sirius said, cheerily. He took Ren's hand and pulled her back to the Marauders. He jumped back onto the table, pulling Ren with him, who looked completely mortified.

"Oh my God." Remus heard her mumble as Sirius dropped her hand and jumped back into his seat, leaving her stood on the table. "I am so sorry!" She attempted to call out to McGonagall as she clambered, not to gracefully, off the table. The students were now all laughing again, and McGonagall merely shook her head, a small smile threatening to form on her thin lips.

"Settle down please!" She called out. When the hall eventually did calm down, she straightened her shoulders before speaking again. "Now, I will go fetch the first years, and then the official Sorting will begin."

And off she went. The room began to murmur when she had left, and Remus focused his attention on Ren, who was settled between Sirius and Peter. She was shaking her head, slightly.

"What a great start to the year. Thank you very much, Sirius." She said. Sirius grinned at her.

"You're quite welcome my dear. There's plenty more surprises like that to come."

I don't doubt that." Ren said, her cheeks staring to cool down to a flushed pink.

"That was so funny!" Ollie was still chuckling to himself as Ren sighed.

"For you maybe." She said. Sirius threw an arm around her slim shoulders and pulled her into his side.

"Come on, it wasn't that bad." He said, still smirking.

"I'll be the judge of that." Ren said, straightening up. "Right, so tell me which Professor is which?" She went on to ask, looking up at the High Table.

"Right," Remus began, turning to face the table. "At the far left, you have Professor Babbling who teaches Ancient Runes. Then next to her, that young blonde one is Professor Burbage, Muggle Studies…"

The introduction of the Professors continued on, until Remus began to reach the end of the table. "Then there's Hagrid. He's the Groundskeeper. Lovely bloke. And next to him you have… Oh." Remus trailed off. He had expected to see one unfamiliar face which he would assume was the new Defence against the Dark Arts Professor, however two people who he had never seen in his life sat before him.

Next to Hagrid sat a beautiful young woman who couldn't have been more than a few years out of Hogwarts herself. Her long hair fell over her shoulder and down her back, and its chocolate brown hue made her alabaster skin stand out exquisitely. She had an impeccably straight nose, and even from his seat Remus could make out her piecing, forest green eyes. Unlike other Professors, who were wearing smart Wizard robes, she wore a navy blue tailored dress which lead Remus to believe that she was either Muggleborn or enjoyed the Muggle fashions.

Next to her, at the end of the table, sat a tall, burly man with dark brown skin and long dreadlocks. His eyes were as dark as his skin, and they held an unusual warmth. He was speaking in hushed tones with the woman sat next to him and Remus could see that the whiteness of his teeth contrasted sharply with his skin, hair and dark robes.

"Who are they?" Ren asked, watching the two people. Remus shrugged.

"One of them is probably the new Defence against the Dark Arts Professor, but I have no idea who the other one is." He replied. Remus turned back to his companions and found that each of them was staring at the two new members of staff with interest.

"Why is there a new Professor for Defence against the Dark Arts?" Ollie asked, curiously. Remus had already explained to Ren the fact that a new Professor was needed for the subject each year and the speculation that the job was cursed, but it appeared that Ollie hadn't been informed.

"Every year we have a new one. Something bad always happens to them." Sirius told the young boy. "I hope it's the bird." He added, eyeing the woman who was now taking a sip of wine from her crystal goblet.

Suddenly the large doors of the Great Hall opened and McGonagall entered, followed by a group of quivering first years, all walking in pairs. The Sorting continued as normal from then on, and Gryffindor earned a healthy amount of newcomers. Finally, after Nathan Yates had taken his seat at the Ravenclaw table, Dumbledore rose from his chair and total silence reigned across the hall.

"Welcome!" He called out. "To our new students. Both young and old-" His eyes twinkled in the direction of the Gryffindor table "- and a warm welcome back to everyone else. Now, while I understand that we are all anxious to tuck into our delicious feast, we must first take the time to welcome, not one, but two new members of staff. Firstly, Professor Leroy Mitchell, who has kindly agreed to take the position of the new Defence against the Dark Arts Professor."

"Damn." Remus heard Sirius mutter to himself as Dumbledore extended his hand in the direction of the tall, mysterious man.

"May we wish him luck in his new job." Dumbledore said. The hall applauded politely, and Professor Mitchell rose from his chair briefly, nodding his head in thanks and acknowledgement.

When the students settled, Dumbledore spoke again. "And secondly, I would like to welcome Doctor Loren Jenkinson. Now instead of studying Muggle medicine as the term 'Doctor' suggests, Doctor Jenkinson has spent a number of years studying, what Muggles call 'Child Psychology', which revolves around the behaviour of children.

"So for the next year, Doctor Jenkinson will be residing at Hogwarts and will always be available should you have any issues you wish to discuss. Think of her as a guidance counsellor of sorts. Her office will be located on the first floor corridor should you need her. Good luck, Doctor."

The hall began to applaud again, but there were a number of curious whispers mingled in there. Remus could understand why. He was just as intrigued as to why this woman would be here just for the year. But Dumbledore's next words pushed all of the questions from his mind.

"And now that we have pleasantries dealt with, I happily say; tuck in."

* * *

"It's weird that it's our last year here isn't it?" Peter asked his friends.

The four boys were sitting in Gryffindor Tower, in their favourite armchairs by the window. After the outstanding feast and a few start of year notices from Dumbledore, the students had all dispersed to their Common Rooms. Many Gryffindor's had already migrated to their dormitories in order to get a head start on unpacking, but a few groups still remained in the Common Room. The Marauders amongst them.

"Yeah I suppose." Remus said. "But what's weirder is that Dumbledore made James the Head Boy."

James and Peter laughed.

"You're telling me." James said. "But he made Lily the Head Girl so I reckon he's trying to give us a little push in the right direction."

"Yeah, because he's tired of watching her turn you down and has come to realise that you can't do it on you own." Sirius carped, drawing his gaze from the group of girls he had been watching. Not only did this group contain Lily Evans herself, but Ren as well. When they had reached the Common Room, Lily had come and pulled Ren away from the boys in order to introduce her to the girls the two of them would be sharing a dorm with.

"Very funny, Padfoot." James said. "Right, shall we head upstairs?" He proceeded to ask the others. Remus and Peter both nodded and rose from their seats, but Sirius remained in his armchair.

"You guys go ahead. I think I'm going to stay here a bit longer. Maybe go for a walk or something." He mused aloud.

"Alright, but remember curfew is in two hours. I wouldn't want to have to give you a detention." James said, grinning. Sirius let out a small huff of laughter.

"Yeah right." He said. James, Remus and Peter said their goodbyes and disappeared up the left staircase.

Sirius really did appreciate the three boys. They had learnt that it was best not to question him when Sirius requested time to himself. They knew that every so often, Sirius needed a break from the joking, carefree way in which he lived his life.

The fact that he managed not to care about so many things had guided him through many situations which the average teenager probably wouldn't be able to handle. His harsh upbringing, which consisted mainly of brainwashing, insults and punishments, should have created a weak, feeble boy who feared his beastly parents, but it backfired and created a rebellious, rambunctious young man.

Because of this, not that many would believe it, Sirius had in fact matured faster than most around him.

He had often taken care of and comforted his younger brother when his parents had lashed out at little Reg. He would act up on purpose so his parents would have seen him as the bad child and hopefully ease up on Reg. The mental and physical abuse had finally cracked Sirius after seventeen years, and he had run away. He had run from the taunts, the torture, from the family that no child deserved.

And yet people still saw Sirius as the joker, the rebel, the boy who simply didn't care. But they just assumed that had happened without reason, when in reality Sirius had built himself up to be that way so people wouldn't ask him what was wrong or try to help him. Because even having gone through all those horrible things with his family, Sirius still believed it would be just as difficult to talk to someone about his past.

"Sirius?"

A warm voice pulled Sirius from the darkest point of his mind and his eyes focused on the person standing before him.

Ren.

She had changed out of her uniform and was now wearing a pair of black jeans and a thin, baggy grey jumper. On her feet were her signature converse. "Are you alright?" She asked, taking a seat opposite him. He realised he must have looked quite sinister, sitting in a dark corner all alone, the firelight playing at his features, and no doubt scowling to himself. He straightened up and smiled at her.

"Of course I am Ren, why wouldn't I be?" He asked. Ren just shrugged slightly.

"I don't know. You just seemed a little… distant." She said, obviously trying to find the right word. Sirius smiled at her once more.

"It's nothing to worry about. I was just thinking about my delightful family."

The smile fell from Sirius' face. To even tell someone that he thought about his family was extremely personal. He would never normally speak about them to anyone beside his fellow Marauders, and even then he would leave out a lot of the details. And yet that confession had slipped from his mouth so easily. Ren nodded tentatively.

"You want to talk about it?" She asked.

Did he? If he could admit that he was thinking about his family so easily to Ren, maybe he did want to talk… No. Of course he didn't want to. That was just an accident. A slip of the mouth.

Sirius shook his head and looked over to her. She was watching him steadily. "Okay." She said. No pressuring, no forcing him, no pressing the subject. Just 'okay'.

"Fancy going for a walk?" Sirius asked. The Common Room had suddenly become ridiculously stuffy, and Sirius was craving fresh air.

"When's curfew?" Ren asked.

"Nine o'clock. Don't worry, we've got a couple of hours." Sirius said. "Come on, I've got something to show you."

They both stood and walked through the Common Room. They climbed through the Portrait Hole and Sirius turned to Ren. "Follow me." The two of them travelled through the castle, only passing a few students, all of which took it upon themselves to stare at Ren as she passed.

"I reckon they're only staring because you dragged me over the table." Ren murmured to Sirius who chuckled to himself.

They reached a wooden doorway and Sirius pulled it open for Ren, who walked through it cautiously. Sirius followed her and they began to climb a large, circular staircase side by side. After a number of minutes Sirius felt cool air on his face, and Ren's hair began to blow in the slight breeze. They reached the top and Sirius pushed open an old, wooden door which did little to block the breeze.

Ren stepped through and Sirius grinned as she gasped in astonishment. They were at the top of the Astronomy Tower and could see the entire Hogwarts grounds no matter which direction they looked in.

However, that wasn't why Sirius had brought Ren here. He had brought her here for the stars. The stars which Ren was now looking up at. "Are we meant to be up here?" She asked, not drawing her gaze from the sky.

"Probably not." Sirius said. That caught Ren's attention. Her head snapped down and she looked in his direction.

"I swear to God if we get caught-"

"Don't worry, I'll take the blame." Sirius interrupted.

He walked over to the edge of the tower and propped his elbows on the stone wall. He stared down at the lake and let the cool breeze blow over him. His body automatically relaxed when Ren did the same. The two of them stood there for a few minutes in complete silence. Yet Sirius felt strangely comfortable. He felt relaxed and at ease around the girl, and spoke before he could stop himself.

"I-I just… I wish I wasn't one of them." He said, quietly, not looking away from the lake. He didn't think he could if he wanted to. It seemed that Ren knew exactly who Sirius meant by 'them'.

"I don't think you are. Not really." She said, gently. Sirius sighed.

"But people will always link me to them. Whether in a good or bad way. And I can't stop them because they're right." He could sense that Ren had turned her head and was now watching him. He made a conscious effort not to show much emotion in his face.

"Maybe so." Ren said. "But surely you can make a better name for yourself then the one they gave you. In all honesty, I think you already have."

"I suppose so. I just wish I didn't have to." Sirius suddenly felt the urge to look Ren dead in the eye. He turned to face her and the two of them just stood there. Sirius was almost daring her to mock him.

But she didn't.

Of course she didn't. Sirius knew that everything he had told her, every secret he had shared, would remain between them. Ren smiled up at him before reaching forward and pulling him into a hug. Sirius stood there for a moment, rigid, before suddenly relaxing and wrapping his arms around Ren.

Strangely, this was the most intimate position he had ever been in with a girl. Sure he had charmed his way into the hearts, and underwear for that matter, of many girls, but none of them had ever really meant anything to Sirius, as bad as that sounds. Although he still wanted to sleep with Ren desperately, she now held a certain importance to him that had nothing to do with the desire to bed her.

When Ren pulled away she smiled at him again.

"I'm pretty sure this is what Doctor Jenkinson is here for." She said, and Sirius laughed at her. He doubted he would ever be able to talk to anyone else about these kinds of things. It seemed that they were only for Ren. Sirius watched as she walked to the centre of the tower and lay down on her back. She looked over to Sirius and patted the stone floor next to her. "Hopefully this time we won't encounter any old ladies."

Sirius let out a bark of laughter.

"Hopefully." He said, and lay down next to her. The two of them of them stared up at the sky, and Ren would point out and identify certain stars while Sirius listened contently.

"And that cluster of stars there, that's Pleiades. Or the Seven Sisters."

"Why are they called the Seven Sisters?" Sirius asked, curiously.

"Well, many years ago in the dream times, that cluster of stars were seven beautiful ice maidens whose parents were a great mountain and an ice cold stream. The Seven Sisters wandered across the land, with their long hair flying out behind them. They were so beautiful that all men loved them, but the maidens' affections were as cold as the stream that gave birth to them, and they never stopped their wanderings in order to please the men.

"One day a man name Wurrunnah cunningly captured two of the maidens, and forced them to live with him while their five sisters travelled to their home in the sky. Wurrunnah was disappointed when he discovered the two sisters he captured were ice maidens, so he took them to a camp fire and tried to melt the cold crystals from their beautiful limbs. But as the ice melted, the water quenched the fire, and Wurrunnah only succeeded in dimming their icy brightness.

"The two sisters were very lonely and sad, and at night they could see their five sisters beckoning them as they twinkled far away in the sky. One day while doing chores for Wurrunnah, the sisters managed to escape with the help of a great pine tree which belonged to the same totem as the maidens. The tree extended itself into the sky and the maidens took advantage of this friendly act and climbed home to their sisters.

"But they never regained their original brightness, which is why there are five bright stars and two dim ones. The Seven Sisters have never forgotten the people of Earth. When the snow falls they loose their beautiful hair to the breeze to remind us of their journey across our land."

Sirius, who had been intrigued by the tale, stared at Ren as she finished the story.

"Where did you learn that?" He asked in disbelief. Ren just shrugged and turned her head to face him.

"I like Astronomy." She said. Sirius smiled at her and went back to watching the stars.

"Bertha has seven sisters." Sirius said after a while, turning back to face Ren, who did the same and looked into Sirius' eyes. "Half sisters and stuff. Not from the same marriage." He added.

"Wow."

"Yeah, the house was full of women." Sirius said, and Ren chuckled.

"I bet you weren't complaining." She said, grinning at him. Sirius laughed with her.

"Most of them were under-aged." He told her. Ren pouted.

"Awww, that's a shame." She said.

"It is, isn't it?" Sirius asked, causing Ren to giggle, quietly.

"How is darling Bertha anyway?" She went on to ask, and Sirius shrugged.

"I wouldn't know. I've been avoiding her like the plague." He replied.

"Oh yeah? May I ask why?" Ren asked. Sirius wrinkled his nose slightly.

"She got clingy." He answered.

"Ahh, of course." There was a pause. "Why don't you like commitment, Sirius?"

If it was anyone else, Sirius would have responded with a witty remark about having more options or something like that, but he now felt the same urge to be honest with Ren.

"I- I don't know… I guess because I've hurt so many girls, I… I don't want to know what that feels like." He said, quietly. It felt odd to say these things aloud, let alone to another person.

"I think you're right to be nervous about getting hurt." Ren suddenly said, bluntly. She turned away from Sirius and looked up at the sky once more. This shocked Sirius. He had assumed Ren would try to convince him that relationships weren't all that bad.

Ren took a deep breath. "Getting hurt sucks." She said, her voice unsteady. "Especially by someone you thought cared about you. Someone who you would do anything for… Someone you loved."

Her voice was shaky and sounded as if it was about to crack. She was trying to keep her breathing steady, and when Sirius looked at her, he could have sworn her eyes looked to be filling up with tears.

Without a moment's hesitation, Sirius sat up and pulled her into his arms. They were both still sat on the floor as Ren buried her face into Sirius' chest. For a minute or two, he just held her in his arms, not saying anything. It was now that he realised that he truly did care about Ren. She was his friend. Seeing her close to breaking down had made his heart twinge slightly and he wanted to make her feel better.

He gently released her and when he looked into her beautiful sable eyes, Sirius saw that he had been correct when he suspected tears. Although there weren't any in her eyes, there were tear tracks down her cheeks and her long lashes were wet and clinging together. Sirius dug his hand into his robe pocket and pulled out a black silk handkerchief with the letters 'S.B' embroidered into it in silver stitching.

He handed it to Ren who looked at it in confusion. "You didn't strike me as the handkerchief kind of guy." She sniffed before dabbing her eyes dry. Sirius shrugged.

"It was a Christmas present from my cousin, Meda. She's one of the only family members who I'm actually proud to be related to." Sirius told her. Ren smiled weakly.

"Why's that?" She asked.

"Because she's a fellow outcast. Apparently marrying a Muggleborn doesn't bode well in our family." Sirius told her. Ren let out a quiet chuckle and he couldn't help but smile.

There was something about the sound of laughter shortly after tears. Sirius was glad he'd been able to make Ren laugh. "Come on, we better get back. There's fifteen minutes until curfew and we best not be late. Prongs is taking his new role as Head Boy VERY seriously." He said, standing up.

He held out his hand for Ren and she took it, still holding his handkerchief in the other. When they were both standing she held it out to him.

"Here." She said, quietly. But Sirius wouldn't take it.

"You hold onto it. Right now I think you need it more than I do." He told her. She smiled and nodded at him.

The journey back to Gryffindor Tower was peaceful. They didn't come across any other students and they made it back to the Fat Lady's portrait in no time at all. "Mockingbird." Sirius said, and the portrait swung open. Sirius helped Ren through the hole then climbed in after her, pulling the portrait closed after him. Surprisingly the Common Room was completely empty.

"Well, goodnight Sirius." Ren said when they reached the stairs leading to the girls dormitories. "Thanks for the handkerchief." Sirius smiled down at her.

"It's alright, Ren." He said. "Goodnight."

"Night." She replied, quietly, but before she could disappear up the stairs, Sirius leant forward and pressed a light kiss to her cheek before he could stop himself.

Ren looked up at him and Sirius, unable to comprehend why the fuck he had just done that, just stared back with wide eyes. Ren gave him a tentative smile before dropping her gaze and hurrying up the stairs, leaving Sirius standing there trying to figure out what the hell had possessed him to kiss her on the cheek.

* * *

It was well past midnight, and Ren lay awake in her new four-poster bed. She had yet to pull the drapes closed and was staring around the dormitory. She found herself unable to fall asleep. Despite feeling tired, her brain was still wide awake.

Sirius had kissed her on the cheek.

Now if it was anyone else Ren probably would have just shrugged it off, but Ren and Sirius had spent the evening talking about how they both feared real commitment.

Ren knew a kiss on the cheek wasn't exactly a declaration of love, but it spoke volumes coming from Sirius. He just didn't seem like the kind of guy to go around kissing women on the cheek, despite his reputation. She had always thought that a kiss on the cheek didn't really mean much. You could do it to a friend or family member and think nothing of it. For a friend it could be quick and caring, and for a family member it would be almost nonchalant.

But Sirius had lingered for a moment, and Ren had picked up a weird signal. She didn't understand. Perhaps she was over thinking it…

Ren let out an irritated sigh and sat up, pushing the covers off her body. She envied her new dorm mates who were all sleeping peacefully. They were a lovely bunch of girls. The five of them had made her feel incredibly welcome. As well as Lily, there was Marlene, Alice, Dorcas and Emmeline. Ren found herself liking each of them the moment Lily had introduced her to them.

First there was Marlene lying in the bed to Ren's left. She was a tall girl with an athletic build. She wore her light brown hair in a long ponytail and her hazel eyes carried a mischievous glint to them. However what instantly drew Ren to the girl was her thick Scottish brogue. It suited her outgoing personality and whenever she spoke Ren couldn't help but listen intently.

Then in the bed next to Marlene was Alice. Alice had beautiful large doe eyes in a soft shade of light brown. Her brown pixie crop complimented her round cheeks and Ren noticed whenever she smiled she had adorable dimples. Although she was rather timid, Ren had still managed to have a nice conversation with the girl and she had found out that she was rather good at Herbology.

Next to Alice lay Dorcas. Ren loved Dorcas. She was bloody crazy. She had a long, frizzy mane of blonde hair and her gappy fringe would often fall into her deep brown eyes. This could have been a contributing factor to her clumsiness. Within ten minutes of meeting her, Dorcas had knocked multiple items over with her flailing arms, but no one could ever get mad at her. A warm, endearing smile always graced her lips so it was hard to give her a proper telling off. Ren was instantly reminded of a hippy, flower child whenever Dorcas spoke in her chilled out, airy manner.

In the bed to Dorcas' right was Emmeline. Upon meeting the girl Ren had been momentarily stunned by the girl's beauty. She had long, straight ebony hair which contrasted dramatically with her pale skin, crystal blue eyes, and dark eyebrows. Ren was reminded distinctly of Bettie Page when she first laid eyes on the girl. Emmeline's beauty was matched by an equally lovely personality. She had been the first of the girls to give Ren a hug and tell her how brave she was for moving schools.

Then there was Lily. Lovely Lily who had happily accepted Ren into her group, who had agreed to show her the ropes and make her feel welcome. Ren smiled to herself as she watched the others sleep. She knew that this year would fly by with friends like these.

Ren looked over to the large bay window next to the bathroom door. She could just make out the Seven Sisters in the night sky, she sighed. Now her thoughts were back on Sirius.

She mentally scolded herself for over thinking something so simple. _'Don't be so stupid Ren'_ she thought.

'_He had just told you his most personal secrets and you ended up crying on his shoulder. You were both in pretty emotional moods. He was obviously trying to make you feel better. Get a grip on yourself!'_

Ren sighed and lay back down. Great, now she was having a battle with her conscience.

Still, as Ren was closing her eyes she caught sight of the black handkerchief lying on her bedside cabinet. She couldn't help but wonder; was there anything more to it?

**Yeah, defiantly my favourite chapter so far :3 We get a more in depth look at Sirius' past which I like. And I liked introducing Ren's dorm mates. It was fun to give each of them their own quirks and to come up with their appearances. Now I mentioned that Sirius ran away at seventeen. I know in the books he was sixteen, but he's seventeen here and at the start of the story he had only just left.**

**Please, please, PLEASE leave a review! They make me smile and motivate the shit out of me. Until next time...**

**Evie x**


	11. Chapter 11

**Oh my god. I'm sorry. The wait between this chapter and the last one is appalling! I'm not going to come out with a load of bullshit like "omg, school's been horrible" or "real life has caught up with me", I generally have no excuse other than the fact that I'm a lazy armpit pube. Right so anyway, here's an extra long chapter as a reward for your patience. And I mean long! It originally had a third POV, but it just seemed to drag on slightly, so I've removed that POV and will post it in the next few days. Anyway, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: In my absence, I still haven't acquired Harry potter. I own nothing but the OC's and the plot.**

Perfectly Content  
_Chapter 11_

"Padfoot, wake up!"

The sound of James' voice drew Sirius out of his sleep with a jolt. He was lying on his stomach, quilt pulled way over his head, having never felt so comfortable.

Sirius timidly popped his head out from beneath the cover and the sheer brightness of the room was enough to make him burrow back down under it with a loud groan. "Oh no you don't!" Sirius heard James say, and suddenly the warm cover was ripped from his body, leaving him defenceless against the cold.

Sirius let out a moan and drew his legs to his chest in an attempt to preserve heat.

"Oh my God, why would you even do that?" He grumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"Because, my friend," James began, dropping the cover on the floor. "You need to wake up."

"Why are you making such a big deal out of it? I'm up." Sirius said, sitting up.

"Yeah, but this wasn't the first attempt to get you up. Both Remus and Peter failed." James said as he buttoned up his crisp white shirt. Sirius shrugged his shoulders in response and looked across the room. Remus was fully dressed and was going through what books he may or may not need, even though they didn't even have their schedules, and Peter was pulling on his socks. James was now tying his tie around his neck in a scruffy knot. "Come on, we'll wait." He said, to which Sirius shook his head.

"Don't bother." He said, pulling himself out of bed. "You go down and get breakfast. I'll manage on my own."

"You sure?" James asked.

"Yeah, I'm fairly sure the Great Hall won't have gone anywhere since last night." Sirius said. James grinned at him, and five minutes later he had left the room along with Peter and Remus. Sirius rubbed his eyes once more. He normally wasn't this bad in the mornings, but last night something had kept him awake. Or someone to be more precise.

He had kissed Ren on the cheek, and he didn't even know why. Sirius would only kiss girls on the cheek if he had slept with them and was trying to get them to lose interest in him. And even then it would be a quick, sordid affair. But last night he had kissed with no intention of trying to shake her off. He had even lingered slightly. If he had been trying to avoid her, Sirius certainly wouldn't have poured his heart out to her earlier that evening.

Last night Ren had danced through his brain, preventing him from falling asleep. However what concerned Sirius was that these thoughts weren't about seducing her, like the ones he had been having during the summer. Sure he still wanted to bed her more than anything, but last night he had been concerning himself over what had happened to her that would make her cry in front of him. Obviously a boy was involved, but he wanted to know the whole story.

Despite this, he had ended up masturbating.

Even though Sirius hadn't been cooking up a little fantasy, these thoughts about Ren had managed to arouse him in an entirely different sense. It was not her looks that had brought on this urge, but Ren herself.

It was safe to say, it was a completely different type of wank to any other Sirius had ever experienced. He had simply been replaying her lying next to him, telling him the story of the Seven Sisters in his head, and he had found himself becoming more and more aroused. So he had swiftly pulled his bed drapes shut and cast a silencing charm over his bed (which was unusually considerate of Sirius), and began to relieve himself.

He had replayed her leaning against the Astronomy Tower wall, her eyes trained on him, and he had pumped faster and faster. But what had brought on his release was the feeling of her wrapping her arms around him in comfort.

Although she was tall, her frame still felt delicate as he had put his arms around her and hugged her back. He had inhaled her familiar, vanilla scent. The sweet and creamy, milky warmth of the aroma had soothed Sirius.

By now the raven-haired teenager had washed, dressed and was pulling on his shoes.

Whatever these peculiar new feelings for Ren were, Sirius decided he would have to keep them to himself. Maybe this was just what it felt like to have a true friend who was a girl, Sirius didn't know, but whatever these feelings were, they had to remain his secret. He would continue to act normal… Well, normal for him. Flirting with her and acting as if his only intention was to get her into his bed. Or hers. Sirius wasn't fussy.

'_At least that won't be particularly difficult.'_ Sirius thought as he walked down the stairs and into the empty Common Room. Everyone was probably at breakfast.

Including Ren…

Sirius mentally slapped himself. How could he act as if unusual feelings weren't developing for the girl if he kept concerning himself with her location? He had to act as if his soul intention was to fuck her. Sirius would be damned if anyone found out the truth. Whatever that was.

Sirius strolled through the castle in the direction of the Great Hall. He truly had missed Hogwarts. It was more of a home to him than Grimmauld Place had ever been. He was sad that it was his final year, but he had a feeling it was going to be the best one so far.

As Sirius entered the hall, he looked up at the enchanted ceiling. Today it was a lovely blue dotted with fluffy, white clouds. Sirius knew the good weather wouldn't last much longer before it drifted off into dreary autumn winds.

He made his way over to the Gryffindor table and spotted James, Remus and Peter sitting with Ren and the girls whom she now shared a dormitory with. This surprised Sirius because Lily Evans was amongst these girls. Normally Lily would try to sit as far away from the Marauders as humanly possible. Yet here she was, listening to Dorcas' endless ramblings whilst munching on a piece of buttered toast.

"Morning all." Sirius said when he reached the group.

There was a collective response of "Morning Sirius" as he took a seat next to James, opposite Ren and Remus. "So, are we all excited for our first day?" Sirius asked, pulling a large platter of bacon and eggs towards him. However before anyone could answer him, a cheery voice sounded from behind him.

"Hi Sirius." It said. Sirius, along with everyone on his side of the table turned while those on the other side all looked up, in order to see who it was.

There, with her usual toothy, white smile plastered on her face, stood Chelsea Bradshaw. Her hair was perfectly curled as per usual, and she was kitted out in her immaculate Ravenclaw uniform.

"Erm, hey Chelsea." Sirius said, slowly. He hoped his voice would give away his confusion as to why she was here. It seemed, however, that she didn't notice his confusion, or she just chose to ignore it.

"I was wondering where you were." The blonde said, and without warning she took a seat on the bench, squeezing herself between Sirius and James.

James couldn't have looked more shocked if he tried. He turned to look at Sirius, bewilderment written all over his face. Sirius just looked back at his friend, his brows furrowed in confusion. He shrugged in response to James' unasked question.

"Chelsea, don't you erm… don't you want to have breakfast with your friends?" Sirius asked the girl, who was now helping herself to a mug of tea.

"Oh no, I thought it would be nice to spend it with you. You know, just in case we don't have any classes together today. Plus I bet you wouldn't have wanted to sit with my friends." Chelsea replied, sweetly, looking up at him and batting her lashes.

No he most certainly did not. Chelsea's friends were the most uptight, self-righteous bunch of prissy, makeup loving girls Sirius had ever had the misfortune of encountering. But instead of voicing this opinion, Sirius thought it wiser to just smile in response.

A thought suddenly hit Sirius as Chelsea turned away from him. Did she think they were an item? Why else would she insist upon sitting with him? Just because he had said he would take her to Hogsmeade DID NOT mean they were a couple.

"Erm, Chelsea," Sirius began, swallowing nervously. He didn't want her to have a total emotional breakdown in the middle of the Great Hall. The blonde turned to him and smiled brightly. Sirius glanced around the group briefly and saw that they were all watching intently. His eyes met James', and the boy shook his head quickly, eyes wide with warning. He was obviously trying to convey an blatant message;

"_Don't fucking do it!"_

The rest of the group seemed to be preparing themselves for the expected tantrum. "You do know… that we're not, you know, together… Right?" He said, gently, looking her dead in the eye. Sirius braced himself for the tears. For the public display of her humiliation, but to everyone's surprise, she just continued to smile at him and let out a girlish giggle.

"Not yet anyway." She said, snuggling into his side and turning to pick up her mug and take another sip.

Sirius gaped at her in disbelief, but before he could respond a snort of what sounded like amusement sounded from the other side of the table. He turned to see Ren holding a goblet of pumpkin juice close to her face. She was looking down, avoiding eye contact with everyone.

"S-sorry," She stuttered, a pink blush forming on her cheeks. "I-" she placed the goblet down on the table and cleared her throat. "-It just, you know, went down the wrong hole." She said with a small, nonchalant shake of head. "I'm fine."

Sirius couldn't help but grin slightly. Ren had obviously found Chelsea's words as funny and outrageous as he had. Chelsea herself was not staring at Ren. Her expression flickered between concern and annoyance. However her signature smile appeared again moments later.

"Oh of course, you're Renee! I don't believe we've been properly introduced. I'm Chelsea Bradshaw." She said, brightly. She stuck her hand out across the table and Ren took it and smiled back, politely.

"Nice to meet you Chelsea. And please, call me Ren." She said. Ren then released Chelsea's hand and went back to her bowl of cornflakes, obviously assuming her interaction with the Ravenclaw was over. However Chelsea seemed to have other ideas.

"I couldn't imagine how difficult it must be to move schools so late into my education." She said, oblivious to the staring of the rest of the group.

Ren looked up from her bowl, spoon poised in midair, and smiled at the girl. The smile did, however, look rather forced. "Especially for someone like you." Chelsea added.

The smile slid right off Ren's face and was replaced with a scowl. She raised a brow in questioning manner.

"What do you mean 'someone like me'?" Ren asked, bluntly. Sirius managed to draw his eyes from the two girls and glance quickly around the group. Everyone was watching the brunette and blonde with wide eyes.

"Well you know, coming from Durmstrang and all." Chelsea said, shrugging, still unaware of the tense atmosphere she had managed to create without even realising.

"No. I'm afraid I don't know." Ren affirmed her voice bitter. "Care to enlighten me?"

Chelsea sniffed and ran her fingers through her silky locks.

"Well, Durmstrang is known for, like, producing dark witches and wizards." She said as casually as if they were discussing the weather. The whole group stiffened at her words, and Ren's grip tightened around the spoon which she had lowered to the table.

"So you automatically assume that I'm a dark witch? That I'm in league with You-Know-Who?"

Sirius felt his eyes widen at Ren's question. However just as Chelsea opened her mouth to answer, Lily has the sense to interrupt before the girl could dig herself an even deeper hole.

"Erm Chelsea, don't you think you should be getting back to your own table? You know, so you can get your timetable." She questioned.

Chelsea turned to the girl sitting on Ren's right. Her eyes flickered downwards, momentarily landing on the glistening Head Girl badge pinned to Lily's robes. When she met Lily's emerald eyes she smiled stiffly at her. It had been no secret how much Chelsea had wanted to be Head Girl, and Sirius could only imagine the tantrum she had thrown when she had lost the badge to Lily Evans.

"I think I've got time." Chelsea said. "Congratulations on making Head Girl by the way." She added, obviously not meaning a word of it. Before anyone could respond, a sharp voice sounded from behind the group.

"While your congratulations are no doubt appreciated, Miss Bradshaw, I agree with Miss Evans in saying you should make your way back to the Ravenclaw table."

Each of them looked up or turned around to see Professor McGonagall standing before them, a neat pile of papers in her arms. Chelsea looked rather dazed before getting a hold of herself and smiling up at the Transfiguration professor.

"Of course, Professor." She said in a chirpy tone. "Bye Sirius." She added before rising from her space and heading back to her own table.

Each of the teenagers looked up at their head of house with a grateful smile on their face. Well, except Ren. She seemed to be unable to remove the scowl that had appeared the moment Chelsea had mentioned Durmstrang. McGonagall proceeded to hand our the timetables, apparently unaware of the confrontation she had just broken up, although Sirius did see her send a glance in Ren's direction that almost seemed concerned. Sirius watched Ren as she began to study her schedule.

"Does anyone else have Potions first?" She asked, looking up.

As it turned out, they all had Potions first, however Sirius had a feeling that it wouldn't just be his fellow Gryffindors that would be sharing the dungeon with him for the next hour.

"I bet you any money we're with the Slytherins." He said to James, who was keeping one eye trained on Lily.

"Probably." Was James' response.

"What else does everyone have today?" Sirius asked. "Because after Potions, I've got Defence against the Dark Arts then, ugh, Divination, Ancient Runes and Muggle Studies."

For the last ten minutes of breakfast the group sat around comparing timetables. "What about you, Ren?" Sirius asked. Ren looked up from the _Daily Prophet_ she had been reading.

"Hm? Oh, I've got Potions, Defence against the Dark Arts, Music, Art and then a free period."

"I've got a free period last, too." Remus said to Ren, who smiled at him. However, Peter prevented her from responding to the sandy-haired boy.

"I didn't know you could take Art and Music. Are they Muggle or wizarding?" He asked Ren.

"Erm, I think they're a mix between the two. And yeah, they're rather hushed up. When we first visited the school in the summer Professor Dumbledore offered them to me when he found out I liked them." James, who had been listening, raised an eyebrow in interest.

"Oh yeah? Who teaches them?" He asked.

"I'm not sure. I think the Muggle Studies professor might, I don't know." Ren told him.

"What about you, my lovely Lily," James began, turning to the girl on Ren's right. "What classes do you have today? Or, more importantly, do you have any with me?"

Sirius smirked as Lily huffed in frustration.

"It is with deep regret, Potter, but I'm afraid so." She said, but her voice less hostile then usual. Infact, she could almost have been joking. James smiled brightly at her.

"I'm sure you don't mean that." He said, before rising from his seat. "Right, come on troops. We don't want to be late for our first lesson of the year!" He eventually managed to rally the others out of their seats, all while Lily was staring at him in confusion.

"Since when do you care about being late for class, Potter?" She asked as she threw the strap of his bag over her shoulder.

"Hey, I'm Head Boy now," James said, poking his right thumb at his chest in indication. "I'm taking this shit seriously." He added, before turning on his heel and starting towards the Entrance Hall.

"Potter?"

"Yes, Lily?" James asked, spinning back around.

"Your timetable." Lily pointed to the space James had been sitting in moments before. His schedule lay on the mahogany table.

"Shit, yeah." James mumbled, and went to collect it. "Cheers m'dears." He said to Lily before turning and heading out of the Great Hall, only this time the others followed him.

"How long do you think he'll keep this up?" Sirius asked Peter as he walked past him.

"'Bout a week, tops?" Peter said, causing Sirius to grin.

Sirius found himself walking with Ren and Dorcas by the time they reached the Entrance Hall. Sirius liked Dorcas. He was pretty sure she was high on Gillyweed ninety percent of the time.

In fact, Sirius liked all of the girls they had eaten breakfast with. They were a nice bunch; always up for a laugh and easy to talk to. Even Lily. Sirius knew that the reason they had all sat together was no doubt due to Ren, but he didn't mind. He could get used to having breakfast with them.

"Alright, Cassie?" Sirius asked the blonde girl, who turned to him a few seconds after the question as if she had only just heard him. She gave him a relaxed smile and nodded. It was a well known fact that Dorcas hated her name with a passion, and requested that people call her Cass or Cassie. Even the professors complied with this wish. Except Professor McGonagall, who addressed everyone by their last name.

"I was just telling Ren about the Nargles." Cassie said in her sing-song voice. Sirius smiled in reply. Last year Cassie had befriended a boy in the year above named Xenophilius Lovegood. Now while Xeno was a nice guy, he was the tiniest bit crazy.

He and his girlfriend, whose name escaped Sirius, had told Dorcas all about the odd little crazy with names that Sirius could never pronounce, and Dorcas being Dorcas, had taken it upon herself to find out all she could about them. Now, she was quite fixated that the unusual creatures were all real, and that some even lived amongst them.

"It's fascinating really." Ren said, smiling at Sirius. A smile that said she wasn't entirely sure what Cassie was on about.

"I should go and tell Marley that she has a swarm of them floating around her head. Fairfarren" And with that, the blonde skipped ahead to where Marlene was walking with Remus and Lily. Sirius' brow furrowed in confusion.

"What's Fairfarren?" He asked Ren, turning to her, and she smiled at him.

"It means goodbye, like farewell, y'know?" She explained to him. Sirius continued to stare at her.

"Oh," He said. "How'd you know that?"

"It's from Alice in Wonderland- fuck me it's cold down here!"

They were descending the stone staircase that led to the dungeon and the temperature had dropped considerably, something which over his years at Hogwarts, Sirius had gotten used to. Ren, however, was taken aback by the sudden change.

"Yeah, you get used to it." Sirius told her. As they reached the bottom of the staircase, the large group of Gryffindors saw that the majority of their classmates had already arrived. Sirius noticed it was basically the same group as last year but with the new addition of Ren. Twenty four students. Thirteen Gryffindors and eleven Slytherins.

Sirius saw Rosier standing amongst his group of snakes, watching Ren as she descended the last few steps, and he felt immense irritation begin to course through him. However before he could dwell on his hatred for the boy, the large, polished double doors flew open, and there stood Professor Slughorn. If it was possible, he looked even fatter then he had last year.

"Welcome back, Seventh Years!" He boomed, his voice warm and jolly. "If you would please be so kind as to sit in the seat you occupied last year, in order to avoid wasting any time."

The students began to saunter through the door, squeezing past Slughorn as he greeted them. "Ah, and you must be Miss Gallagher!" The man said, kindly, when Ren reached him. Ren, who was standing just in front of Sirius, smiled at him and nodded, taking his pudgy, outstretched hand with her own slim, dainty one.

"It's nice to meet you, Sir." She said, politely.

"Likewise, likewise." Slughorn chortled. "I must say I was most impressed when I took a look at your grades."

Ren smiled, graciously, and blushed slightly.

"Thank you, Sir." She said.

"That's quite alright, my dear." Slughorn said. "Now, the only available seat in this room is next to Mister Rosier, is that alright?" He went on to ask, obviously aware of the conflict between Gryffindor house and his own. Sirius felt himself tense at Slughorn's words. No it was not bloody alright! He didn't want Ren sitting anywhere near that lecherous snake! Ren, however, seemingly didn't want to cause a fuss on her first day.

"Of course, Sir." She said, and with a final smile, she walked into the dungeon. Sirius watched as she took her seat next to Rosier, who had been watching her coming, and smiled at her in a seductive manner. As Ren sat down, Sirius saw Rosier murmur something to her to which she only smiled in reply.

"Good morning, Mister Black. Lovely summer I trust?" Slughorn was now saying.

"Yeah, great." Sirius mumbled as he entered the room. Slughorn's desk was directly opposite the door, and in the space between them were three rows of four desks.

Sirius took his seat next to James at the desk three desks back from the front of the classroom in the middle row. Behind him sat Cassie and Marlene, and to the left of them were Ren and Rosier. Sirius watched them over his left shoulder with a scowl on his face. He could feel his mood darkening as he watched Ren talk to Rosier while retrieving her Potions book from her rucksack.

"Unlucky for Ren." Sirius heard James say as he turned back around.

"Hmph." Was all Sirius responded with.

Ren didn't seem to mind having to sit with Rosier.

* * *

"Class dismissed."

The students all rose abruptly and began to pack their things away at Slughorn's words. They began to file out of the room and when Ren exited the classroom, she stopped in order to wait for Remus, Sirius, James and Peter. The girls had stopped with her but Ren had said they could go ahead to Defence against the Dark Arts, which Lily seemed grateful for.

When the boys emerged from the dungeon they all smiled when they saw her. All except Sirius.

"So Ren, how was your first official lesson at Hogwarts?" James asked as they began to climb the stone staircase.

"It was good, I enjoyed it." She told them as they reached the Entrance Hall. This was when Sirius let out a huff.

"Enjoy sitting with Rosier, did you?" He asked Ren, bitterly. Ren stopped and stared at him in disbelief.

"What's got your wand in a knot" She asked, her brows furrowed.

"Nothing." Sirius mumbled in response as he tried to walk past her. But Ren, showing a surprising amount of strength, grabbed his arm and pulled him back. Sirius, as well as the others, stared at Ren in shock. Normally when Sirius was in one of his moods he was left alone to sulk, but Ren wasn't having any of that. She was not going to let Sirius ruin her first day at Hogwarts with his snide little comments.

"Would the three of you excuse me and Sirius for a moment? Thanks." She said, turning to James, Remus and Peter briefly, who were all staring at her with wide eyes. Not waiting for an answer, she dragged Sirius by his arm out of the Entrance Hall door and down the stone steps onto the Hogwarts ground. She released his arm and turned on him, sharply.

"Alright, what's got into you?" Ren asked Sirius, who was now admiring his shoes with great interest, his hands stuffed deep into the pockets of his robes. "Because you were fine before Potions and now you're acting like a petulant child."

Sirius looked up, abruptly, and scowled down at her.

"I am not!" He argued, to which Ren rose an eyebrow. Sirius scoffed and relaxed his shoulders. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just surprised at how comfy you were around the Snake." He said, casually, shrugging his shoulders as Ren gaped at him.

"Seriously?" She asked, wide eyed. "You're pissed off at me because I sat where Slughorn told me too?" Sirius opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself. He let out a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through his raven locks.

"No! I-" He huffed in annoyance. "I'm pissed off at Rosier." He eventually managed to get out.

Ren's brow furrowed automatically. Why would he be annoyed with Rosier? Ren knew the two of them didn't get along but it wasn't the Slytherins fault that she was placed next to him. Unless…

"Sirius, are you jealous that I sat next Evan and not you?"

"His name is not Evan, his name is Rosier." Sirius muttered, not looking at her. Ren couldn't help but smile at his childish response.

"So you are jealous?" She asked with a cocked brow. When he didn't answer Ren knew she was correct. "I'll sit next to you in Defence against the Dark Arts, if you want?" She offered. Sirius finally looked at her.

"Come on, we're going to be late." He said, and Ren smiled at him. The two of them began to make their way back up the steps. "And for the record, I was not jealous."

"Yeah, whatever."

As the two of them approached the Defence against the Dark Arts classroom on the third floor, they saw that, by some miracle, they weren't late. "I'm going to go and see Lily, okay?" Ren said.

"Whatever you want, Brown-Eyes."

"Don't call me that."

Ren weaved her way through the students waiting in the corridor until she found Lily and the girls standing with a Hufflepuff boy that Ren had yet to meet. He had mucky blonde hair that swept over his forehead in neat side fringe, a strong, square jaw and the bluest eyes Ren had ever seen.

"Hey Ren, where did you and Black get to? You're not falling for his charm are you? Lily teased when Ren reached the group.

"Merlin, no." Ren said. "He was just acting like a child so I had to talk some sense into him." She told them.

"Sounds like Black." Marlene mused.

"Oh, Ren this is Dan." Lily said, indicating to the Hufflepuff boy.

"Hey Dan, I'm Ren." Ren said with a smile.

"Oh I know who you are." Dan replied. "I must say, McGonagall's face when Sirius dragged you over the table was priceless. I swear I saw about three veins pop out of her neck."

Ren was slightly taken aback.

"Oh… well I'm glad you enjoyed that." She said, causing the boy to laugh.

"So, how do you like Hogwarts so far? I bet all the boys here are a step down from the big, hunky balls of muscle that I hear go to Durmstrang." Dan rambled. He spoke very quickly and Ren only just managed to keep up.

"Yes, well," She paused. "As big, hunky and… muscly as they are, they don't have a brain between them." Ren told him, to which Dan just shrugged.

"Wouldn't stop me. I'd have enough brains for the two of us." He said to Ren, who laughed. Before she could respond, however, the door of the classroom opened and the tall figure of Professor Mitchell appeared.

The students filed in and, as promised, Ren took a seat next to Sirius with Remus on her left. Behind the three of them sat Peter, James and another Gryffindor boy named Benjy Fenwick and in front of them sat Cassie, Lily and Alice with Marlene, Emmeline and the Hufflepuff boy, Dan, in front of them, just a stones throw away from Professor Mitchell's desk.

Professor Mitchell himself made his way to the front of the classroom and stood still, for a moment, observing his class.

"Good morning, Seventh Years." He said in a deep, soothing voice that had an unusual, exotic tone to it. "My name is Professor Mitchell, and I am here to teach for the next year.

"Now when I say teach, I don't mean to have you reading from a book each and every lesson while I talk at you, with the occasional practical thrown in there. I mean to inform you of the horrors of this world and how to defend yourself against them, because Lord only knows you'll have to."

Professor Mitchell had now taken a few steps forward and was now standing before the alleyway inbetween the two rows of desks. Ren, along with every other student in the class, gawked at the tall, mysterious man standing before them in absolute awe. "I will sugarcoat nothing. If a curse is deadly, I will tell you. If a hex will cause your insides to burn and make you beg for death, I will tell you"

Ren saw Dan turn his head, slowly, and when his eyes met hers, she saw the look of confused terror on his face as if to say _"Where the hell did they find this ray of sunshine?"_

"I hope we can do this in the most pleasant manner possible, because I'm not one to be crossed." The Professor added.

The whole class just stared, utterly perplexed.

"Okay, now that we have introductions out of the way we shall begin." Professor Mitchell turned and headed back to his desk. "I have to admit, I was impressed by the grades of this class from the previous year. Very impressed. Because of this, I have decided to jump straight into the difficult work. And I mean difficult."

There was a collective groan from the class which caused Professor Mitchell to emit a deep chuckle. "It's your own fault. Now, who can tell me anything at all about the Patronus Charm?"

There was a slight murmur throughout the group, but no one raised their hand except for Remus. "Yes, Mister…?"

"Lupin, Sir. Remus Lupin." Remus said, lowering his hand.

"Well Remus, what is a Patronus?"

"It's a kind of positive force that works as a shield of sorts for the wizard that conjures one. Corporeal Patronus', also known as Spirit Guardians, generally take the shape of an animal, while a Non-Corporeal Patronus is just a cloud of white, misty substance." Remus recited, occasionally glancing at Professor Mitchell who would nod for him to continue.

"Very good, Mister Lupin. Very good indeed. Take five points for Gryffindor." He said. Ren watched as Remus flushed, slightly, under Professor Mitchell's praise. "Does anybody know what creature the Patronus works against?"

One again, Remus' hand rose into the air.

"I'd get used to this if I was you, Sir." Sirius said, to which the class, including Remus, laughed at. Professor Mitchell merely smiled before speaking again.

"Yes Remus?" He said.

"The Patronus will drive off Dementors if conjured strongly enough. Dementors feed off happy memories, so the Patronus acts as a shield which the Dementors will try to feed off instead." Remus said. Professor Mitchell smiled again.

"Correct. Another five points for Gryffindor." He said. Remus flushed once more. "However, a Dementor is not the only creature that can be repelled by the Patronus Charm. Does anybody know the second creature?" Ren turned to Remus, but his hand remained down. She tentatively raised her own hand into the air. The Professor smiled, warmly, at her.

"And your name is?" He asked.

"Ren Gallagher."

"Ah, of course. I saw you at the Sorting." Professor Mitchell, causing Ren to flush in embarrassment.

"Oh. So you saw me being dragged over the table?" She asked, avoiding eye contact. Ren noticed that Sirius was grinning next to her, so she couldn't help but punch him in the arm.

"Ow!"

Professor Mitchell chuckled.

"I did. But now, Miss Gallagher, please tell me what creature I am referring to." He said.

"Is it a Lethifold? Also known as the Living Shroud." The Professor raised an eyebrow, impressed.

"Very impressive, Miss Gallagher. Would you be able to tell those who don't know exactly what a Lethifold is?" He said.

"The Lethifold is an extremely rare creature, found only in tropical climates. It resembles a black that glides along the ground at night, about half an inch thick. However if it has recently killed and digested someone, it'll be thicker."

"Correct." Professor Mitchell said. "Ten points for Gryffindor, for Miss Gallagher's knowledge of such a rare creature."

As the lesson progressed, Professor Mitchell went on to tell the class all about Corporal and Non-Corporal Patronus', the incantation used to conjure a Patronus, and of how they can be used to send messages, a method invented by Professor Dumbledore, and even showed them his own Patronus, which took the form of a beautiful, sleek panther that stalked around the classroom. By the time break rolled around, the whole class was deeply impressed by their new professor, and no one complained when he instructed them to read up on Patronus'.

The group made their way to the Great Hall in high spirits, chatting and laughing as they walked, and thankfully Sirius had foregone his sullen mood and was back to his usual flirtatious self.

Ren was walking down the marble staircase with Sirius on one side and Remus on the other, listening to Sirius' story about the last Defence against the Dark Art's professor coming close to having a nervous breakdown thanks to James and Sirius when her eyes fell on Chelsea Bradshaw standing at the bottom of the staircase. Her lips were pursed in annoyance and her hands were placed firmly on her hips. She was glaring up at Sirius who was yet to notice her.

"Oh, Christ." Ren mumbled.

"What?" Remus asked, his voice laced with concern.

"Medusa at twelve o'clock." Was all Ren said. Remus and Sirius turned and saw Chelsea standing there, staring daggers up at Sirius, who paled at the sight.

"Oh I just remembered I forgot my quill-" Sirius began, turning swiftly and trying to march back up the stairs, only to be held back by Ren grabbing his robes.

"Oh no, Fonzy! You're not going anywhere." She said, pulling at his robe so he turned back, sharply.

"No, seriously! I forgot my book and I need to get it-" Sirius stuttered, trying to escape again.

"I thought you said you forgot your quill." Ren teased.

"Yeah that's what I meant!"

Sirius' struggle continued until they reached the bottom of the stairs, where Chelsea was waiting for him. "No, but seriously, let go! I need to- oh, h-hi, Chelsea." The blonds gaze flashed down to where Ren's grip was still locked onto Sirius' arm.

"Sirius, would you care to explain why I saw you and Rhonda disappearing outside after first period?" She seethed. However before Sirius could come up with a good excuse, Ren interrupted.

"Rhonda? If you're going to get my name wrong on purpose in the attempt to intimidate me, at least be close!" Chelsea gawped at Ren for a moment, obviously surprised that Ren had caught on to her plan.

"I… That's not the point!" She snapped at Ren, before turning back to Sirius, who looked practically terrified. "Answer my question, Sirius!" Ren could see that Chelsea was about to have a meltdown, so when Sirius continued to stare at her, wide-eyed and spluttering slightly, she took it upon herself to answer

"Sirius was just letting me down gently." She said, shrugging.

"What?" Both Chelsea and Remus, who had been watching the confrontation with some interest, said, turning to Ren. Sirius was now staring at her in confusion.

"Yeah… Erm," Ren paused. She hadn't really thought this through. "I, erm, made a pass at Sirius in Potions, and he was just politely turning me down." She managed to say. Honestly, she deserved an award. "He said he had his eye on someone else." She added for effect. Chelsea, who had been eyeing her suspiciously, relaxed and turned back to Sirius, smiling warmly at him.

"Awww, Sirius!" She cooed at the boy, who was still rooted to the spot looking completely dumbfounded. Ren caught his eye and nodded, encouraging him to play along. "That's so sweet!" Chelsea said. All of a sudden she let out a girlish giggle and threw her arms around Sirius, successfully knocking Ren back into the arms of Remus. Sirius gingerly brought his arms around Chelsea and gave her a gentle pat on the back.

When Chelsea pulled away she beamed up at him. "I need to go and see Professor Flitwick. Don't wait up." She said, and bustled past the three teenagers, who remained silent until she was out of sight. Both Sirius and Remus turned to Ren, who smiled.

"You're welcome." She said to Sirius.

"I think you just averted World War Three." Sirius said, grinning at her.

"You owe me, Fonzy." Ren said, starting to walk towards the Great Hall. The two boys caught up with her and fell into step as they approached the Gryffindor table, where the rest of the group sat.

"I'm sure Professor Burbage will be pleased to know your Muggle Studies lessons are paying off." Remus said to Sirius, who smiled.

"I'm not just a pretty face, Moony."

When the three of them reached the table, James looked up at them.

"Where did you three get to?" He asked. "Or was it a private matter?" He added, wiggling his eyebrows, his voice dripping with innuendo. Ren scoffed.

"Wouldn't you love to know?" She said, plonking herself down on the bench next to Lily. "No, we ran into that Chelsea girl." She explained, pouring herself a goblet of pumpkin juice.

"Ugh." James said, making a face.

"Yeah," Remus said, taking a seat on Ren's other side. "And I'm pretty sure she would be using Sirius' testicles as a purse had Ren not stepped in."

Sirius made a wincing sound as he sat down.

"She wouldn't have been the first to have tried either." James said, smirking at his friend, who looked affronted.

"And what's that meant to mean, Prongs?" He asked, faking insult.

"Erm, that you're a dick?" James said, still grinning. Sirius dropped the act and shrugged.

"Can't argue with that." He said, picking up the flagon that Ren had just used and pouring himself a drink. "But at least I'm a lovable dick."

"We'll be the judge of that." Remus mumbled.

"Hey!"

James laughed before turning to Lily.

"So Evans, how 'bout it? You. Me. First Hogsmeade visit?" He asked, smiling hopefully at her. Lily sighed and closed her copy of'Advanced Potions'. She turned to James.

"Potter, I'm not going to change my mind." She insisted.

"Ah, you say that now, but-"

However James' argument was interrupted by the arrival of hundreds of owls swooping into the Great Hall. Ren was taken aback by the sight and watched as the owls dropped various parcels and packages down to the students.

"Heads up!" Sirius shouted, causing Ren to turn just in time to see a beautiful barn owl drop a parcel down to James, who caught it with ease.

"Cheers Asta!" He called up to the owl, before beginning to open the package.

"What did you forget this year?" Peter asked the messy haired boy.

"Erm-" James removed the rest of the packaging and opened the small box. "- My Head Boy badge."

"How did you manage to forget that?" Lily asked, incredulously. James just shrugged as he pinned the badge to his robes.

"Hey, you're lucky I remember my wand." He said, causing the group to laugh. Ren snook a glance at Lily, who was having trouble suppressing a smile. Suddenly, a speckled tawny owl, that Ren didn't recognise, swooped down and dropped a letter before her.

"Oh." Was all Ren could say as she picked the letter up. She hadn't been expecting any mail, so she was rather surprised. She turned the envelope over and saw _'Ren'_ written across the front in a casual scrawl. She jumped in recognition and opened the note quickly. As she began to read the letter, oblivious to the rest of the group watching her, she felt her heart begin to grow heavy.

Dylan.

"_Hey Ren! I hope you're okay and that you're adapting well to England. It's pretty boring here without you. Everyone at the reserve misses your Dad, especially the dragons. They've been foul ever since he left. We don't even have your weekend visits to look forward to anymore, but I guess if we did the dragons wouldn't be acting up. _

_Although he won't admit it, I think Big Dave misses you the most. Since you left he's been in a mood to match the dragons, but whenever we call him out on it he starts threatening to "Feed us youngsters to the dragons". I miss you too. A lot. Although it's so much quieter without you, which is still taking some getting used to, haha._

_How's your new school? If this letter arrives on time you should be getting it on your first day. Have you managed to make any friends? Because we all know how good you are at that. I should be getting some time of work around New Year, so maybe I could come and visit? Let me know what you think._

_Missing you lots!_

_Dylan x"_

Ren read the letter through twice before looking up. She tried to avoid the glances from her friends. Truth be told, she hadn't given Dylan much thought throughout the last few weeks, and now she felt incredibly guilty.

He had obviously been missing her, and yet she hadn't spared him a second thought. What kind of friend did that make her? She didn't want him to think that she didn't miss her, because she did! Merlin, she missed him! He had been the only real friend she had had in Sweden, and yet she hadn't even written to him.

"Erm, I just… I-I'm going to get some fresh air." She said, quietly, rising from her seat. Not waiting for a response, she hurried out of the Great Hall, keeping her head down while clutching the letter in her hand.

**So? Was it worth the wait? Once again, I really am sorry for making you guys wait for that long -.- Anyway, I just want to point out that I know that in the books Slughorn said he never taught Sirius, but what's the fun in that? I'll hopefully have the next chapter up in a few days so you won't have to wait to long.**

**I'm a whore for reviews. Don't be shy.**

**Evie x**


	12. Chapter 12

**Reasonably short gap between chapters. Not bad if I say so myself. Anyway, this is just the little short POV I told you about in the last A/N. Just a warning, the M rating comes into play here...** **Thanks to those who reviewd, they made me a very happy girl :3**

**Disclaimer: Stop reminding me that I don't own Harry Potter**

Perfectly Content  
_Chapter 12_

Remus watched as Ren left the hall and headed outside. He turned back to the others, most of who were still staring towards the large open doors of the Great Hall.

"What just happened?" James asked, breaking the silence. Remus shrugged, as did many of the others.

"Did anyone see who the letter was from?" Sirius questioned, his voice showing a surprising amount of concern. Everyone shook their heads in response.

"Do ye' think she's okay?" Marlene asked no one in particular.

"Maybe one of us should go after her." Emmeline said, sounding worried.

"I'll go." Remus said, and before anyone could say otherwise, he rose from his seat and was walking swiftly after Ren. When he reached the large front doors of Hogwarts, Remus looked outside and spied Ren sitting underneath the towering beech tree that stood on the bank of the Black Lake. As Remus started towards her, he began to study her. She was sat with her legs crossed, leaning against the trunk of the tree and staring blankly ahead. He wasn't sure what he had expected her to be doing. Crying maybe?

As he drew closer, Ren turned her head to see who was coming. She smiled slightly upon recognising Remus before turning back to the Lake once more. When he reached her, Remus sat down, quietly, by her side. He decided it would be best to keep quiet. If she wanted to talk about it, she would. Remus didn't want her to feel pressured. After a minute or two, Ren finally spoke.

"It was from Dylan." She said, holding up the letter.

"Oh." Remus said. "Is he okay?"

"Oh yeah, he's fine. He just misses me." Ren said. Remus chose not to say anything once again. "And," Ren paused. "I feel guilty because it's like," Another pause. "I'm not missing him as much as he's missing me."

Remus nodded slowly in understanding.

"I'm sure that's not the case." He said when she had finished. Ren turned to him.

"You think?" She asked, to which he nodded. "I just don't want him to think that I don't miss him. Because I do!" She said.

"I'm sure he knows that Ren. You've just had a lot on your plate since you've moved. It's not your fault if you've been preoccupied with settling in. And I'm sure Dylan knows this." Remus told her. Ren opened her mouth, about to speak, but paused, obviously thinking about what Remus had just said.

"I guess you're right." She eventually said, leaning back against the tree once more. "You should be a therapist." Remus laughed at this.

"Not likely." He said. The two of them sat there in silence for a minute or two, perfectly comfortable with each others company.

"Hey, what was up with that Chelsea girl today? What's going on with her and Sirius?" Ren asked, sitting up and turning to Remus. She plucked a few strands of grass and began to pull them in half. Remus shrugged.

"I don't know. Sirius probably had sex with her last year and now she's getting clingy. You get used to it." He said. Ren giggled in response.

"Speaking of sex, when are we going to do it?" She suddenly asked, bluntly. Remus blinked in surprise. He was always taken aback by her bluntness.

"Erm, I don't know." Was all he could say, causing Ren to smile at him.

"Come on, you're not still awkward about this are you? After everything we've already done?" Remus just let out a nervous chuckle.

"Surprisingly, yes." He said, feeling himself begin to flush. Ren laughed.

"When do you next have a free period?" She asked after a moment or two. Remus closed his eyes for a moment, trying to remember.

"Erm, after lunch I think." He said.

"Do the others?" Remus shook his head, and Ren raised an eyebrow, suggestively. "Well? How 'bout it?" She asked. Remus gaped for a moment.

"You want to…?" He trailed off, and Ren nodded.

"If you want to." She said.

Remus could only nod. Holy shit. This was really happening. He was going to have sex with Ren while Sirius, James and Peter were all trapped in a classroom. Ren grinned at him before glancing back to the castle quickly. When she was sure the coast was clear, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to Remus', one hand cupping his cheek. All too soon she pulled away and smiled at him. "Come on." She said.

She stood and held out her hand for him. Remus took it and rose to his feet. "Thanks for cheering me up, by the way." Ren said as they began to walk back to the castle. Remus just smiled at her.

"That's what friends are for." Was all he said. As the two of them reached the castle, the students had just begun to file out of the Great Hall.

"Ren!"

Both Ren and Remus turned to see Lily exiting the Hall, holding Ren's bag in her hand. Lily made her way over to the two of them and handed Ren her bag, giving her a tentative smile as she did so.

"You alright?" She asked, to which Ren smiled back and nodded.

"Yeah thanks, I just got a little emotional. Nothing serious." She said. Lily smiled and nodded in understanding.

"Erm, I've got Music now. Do either of you know which floor that's on?" Ren proceeded to ask.

"Fifth." Remus said. "You've got quite the journey ahead of you." Ren rolled her eyes.

"I better get a move on then." She said. "Thanks for bringing my bag, Lily." She gave the girl a quick hug. "See you at lunch, guys. Oh Remus, we're still on for the free period right?" She added, innocently, turning him and giving him a knowing look. Remus smiled, nervously, before nodding.

"See you." He said, as she turned and joined the mass group of students heading up the marble staircase.

"Is she alright?" Lily asked, watching her go.

"Yeah." Remus said. "Just missing a friend." Lily nodded.

"Come on, we've got Divination." She said, and the two of them began the journey to the North Tower.

For Remus, the next two hours flew by in a blur. He was barely aware of what was going on around him, too preoccupied with the prospect of what was going to happen after lunch. He barely registered the walk to the Ancient Runes classroom when Divination had ended, and in no time at all, Remus was heading down to the Great Hall for lunch along with James, Peter and Sirius, only half listening to the conversation being held between them.

"So shall we hold team tryouts this weekend?" James was saying.

"Sounds like a plan. We need to find a new Chaser and a new Keeper, don't we?" Sirius said, to which James nodded.

"Didn't Ren say she wanted to try for Chaser?" Peter asked. This caught Remus' attention and he turned fully to his friends.

"Oh yeah, you reckon she'll go for it?" James asked as they entered the Hall.

"Probably. Didn't she play on her old schools team since her fourth year or something?" Sirius' brow furrowed as he spoke, obviously trying to remember.

"Third." Remus said, taking a seat at the table. James looked impressed and opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the arrival of Ren herself. She plopped herself down with a tired "Ugh", and rested her head on table. Remus smiled from his space next to her.

"You alright, Ren?" He asked. Ren inhaled, deeply, as she sat up and smiled at him.

"Never better." She said. "Just a little tired." She pulled a plate of chicken and chips towards herself and began to eat.

"What did you just have?" James, who was already a quarter of the way through his meal, asked. Ren placed her knife and fork down and held up her hands, palms forward, at James.

"Guess." She said. Remus inspected her hands, as did the others, and could see that despite her best attempts, Ren had been unable to remove all of the paint from her hands. James leaned in closer and stared deeply at her palms, as if he was trying to solve a mystery.

"Hmmm…" He mused. "Art?" Ren grinned and picked up her knife and fork again.

"Nailed it, Potter."

James let out an excited squeal before going to back to his meal. Ren laughed and did the same.

"So Ren, what did you do in Art?" Peter asked.

"Something with paints I'm guessing." Sirius interjected. Like James, he had already devoured most of his meal. Remus just smiled to himself as he placed a chip in his mouth. The two of them had always been bottomless pits. Always managing to devour half of what was on the table between them.

"We were just allowed to do our own thing, it was pretty chilled. The Professor put the radio on and just left us to it." Ren was saying when Remus tuned back into the conversation. "As you can probably tell from the state of my hands, I started a painting." She added. Sirius raised an eyebrow, interested.

"Oh yeah? Of what?"

"A woman." Ren replied, catching the attention of both James and Peter. The hastily joined Sirius in staring at Ren in interest.

"A woman?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah, well, from the back."

"Well I'm sure we'd all like to see this masterpiece-" Ren scoffed. "-when it's finished." Sirius said.

"I don't know about this masterpiece you speak of, but you're welcome to come and see my painting once it's finished." Ren said, smirking. Before anyone could respond, the five teenagers were interrupted by Ollie popping up behind Ren.

"Hi Ren!" He said, sounding as excited as ever. Ren, who hadn't seen Ollie appearing, jumped and let out a small yelp of surprise. She spun around was met with Ollie's brown eyes, identical to her own, twinkling mischievously.

"Ollie! Don't do that!" Ren exclaimed, placing a hand over her heart.

"And you call yourself a Gryffindor?!" Ollie mocked.

"I don't! The hat decided!" Ren argued. Ollie just smiled at her, causing Ren to sigh.

"So how's your first day been?" She asked, making room for him on the bench between Remus and herself. Ollie looked at Remus to see if he minded him joining them, and when Remus smiled and made room himself, Ollie took the seat and grinned.

"Great! I just had Transfiguration and Professor McGonagall turned her desk into a pig! But she had to change it back again." Ollie looked rather put out by the time he had finished speaking.

"Well she's hardly going to leave it as a pig is she?" Ren asked, trying to make Ollie see reason.

"I suppose." The young boy said. "What about you? What lesson did you just have?" He asked his sister as she collected a plate of food for her brother and placed it down in front of him.

"Art." Ren told him, going back to her own meal.

"Ohh, did you paint another naked woman again?" Ollie asked, tucking into his chips.

"What?!" All four of the Marauders asked in unison, turning to Ren, who blushed under their scrutinising.

"You say that as if I _only_ paint naked women… Which I don't! I've only done like, three paintings. And besides, you don't even see… everything." Ren tried to explain, her cheeks now burning pink. She looked down, avoiding their gazes. "And yes, I did by the way." She mumbled in answer to Ollie's question.

"Well, Ren!" Sirius exclaimed, smirking. He looked as if Christmas had come early. "When you said a woman, I didn't expect her to be naked!" He seemed to be enjoying himself immensely. Ren was trying to stifle a smile.

"It's just their backs or torsos! You don't see their... you know… area." She attempted to argue.

Sirius let out a loud bark of laughter, which was matched by James' and Peter's chuckles. Remus pressed his lips together, determined not to laugh... Ren met his eye and sighed. "Go on, laugh. I know what you want to." She sighed. Before Remus could stop himself, he burst out laughing. Ren closed her eyes and let out a silent chuckle, and even Ollie was grinning at his sisters' expense. "Okay, moving swiftly on." Ren said when the group had eventually calmed down.

By the time they had all finished lunch, Remus had nearly forgotten about what he and Ren had planned for their free period. That was until Ren, discreetly placed her hand on his upper thigh. Ollie had long since cleared off when his friends had arrived, and Ren had slid closer to Remus not long after. When her hand made contact with his thigh Remus glanced at her, quickly.

Her eyes remained on James as he told her about one of his and Sirius' many pranks. She spoke and laughed as if nothing had changed. Remus decided to do the same, but this was becoming increasingly difficult due to the burning sensation of Ren's touch. Eventually the end of lunch rolled around and Sirius, James and Peter began to prepare for their upcoming lessons. Well, James and Peter did. Sirius began to complain.

"Ughhh! I don't want to have Muggle Studies!" His head met the wooden table and he let out a long groan.

"That's the spirit, Sirius." Ren quirked.

"Come on, Padfoot." James said, patting his friend on the back. It took five minutes for Sirius to finally convince Sirius to move from the table. As they walked out of the Great Hall, Sirius turned to Remus and Ren.

"So, what are you two lucky little shits going to spend your free period doing" He asked while walking backwards. Remus panicked internally, unable to think of a cover story, but it appeared Ren had already came up with an alibi.

"Remus-" She pulled Sirius to the side in order to prevent him walking into a first year. "-has agreed to show me the library."

"Pft, boring." Sirius said, to which Ren only smiled at him.

When the five of them reached the first floor, Ren and Remus said their goodbyes to Sirius, James and Peter, who made their way to the Muggle Studies classroom. Ren and Remus continued on their way to the Fat Lady's Corridor, and when they reached the Portrait Hall, Remus said the password and the two of them climbed through the portrait.

The Common Room was empty minus a pair of third years who were too busy concentrating on a game of Wizard's Chess to even acknowledge their arrival. Remus felt like he was about to burst due to the tension that had been rising between himself and Ren since she had placed her hand on his leg.

"Yours or mine?" He asked quietly, hoping she'd catch onto his meaning.

"Yours." Ren answered, and Remus nodded before leading the way to the staircase that lead to his dormitory. Ren followed him and when they reached the door to the dormitory Remus opened it and held it open for Ren.

"Thanks." She said as she walked into the room. Remus followed her in and the moment he closed the door Ren turned to him. "Ready?" She asked, and when Remus nodded she took a step forward and kissed him. This kiss couldn't have differed more from the brief one they had shared that morning. This one was full of passion and desire, and when Remus placed a hand on her waist and pulled her closer, Ren let out a slight moan.

She pulled away, ever so slightly, and looked Remus in the eyes, their faces only an inch or two apart. "Undress." Ren murmured.

Remus nodded and pulled away. He began to remove his clothing and Ren did the same, laughing as Remus stumbled slightly with his socks. She unbuttoned her shirt and pulled the white vest top she wore under her blouse over her head.

Soon they both stood in front of each other in only their underwear, Remus' boxers already starting to tent from his erection. "Wait-" Ren suddenly crouched down and picked up her robe, fishing her wand from the pocket. "Impedo." She murmured, before putting the wand away and placing the robe down once more.

"Contraception spell?" Remus asked, to which Ren nodded.

She took a small step forward and Remus raised his hand and tucked a loose curl behind her ear before leaning forward and kissing her. Their tongues found each other and began to brush and roll off the other. Remus wrapped his arms around Ren's waist and gently began to edge her towards his bed. He laid her back on the soft mattress and took a final look at her, curls spread around her head, cheeks flushed, before proceeding.

Remus leaned forward and rested himself above her before pulling the crimson bed sheets over his lower back, effectively covering them both. He gave her a quick kiss before pulling back, slightly. Ren smiled up at him and nodded in consent. Remus edged his boxers down and off his legs while Ren wiggled free of her pants, but choosing to leave her pale blue bra on.

Ren ran her hands through Remus' sandy hair, pulling him closer into another kiss. When they pulled away, Remus leaned forward slightly, his breath tickling Ren's ear. "Are you ready?" He whispered, and Ren smiled before nodding.

He took himself in hand and guided himself to her entrance. Ren's hand helped lead him the dip between her folds, which were hot and wet with arousal, and Remus slowly pushed himself into her, watching her face for any sign of discomfort. However, to his surprise and delight, there were none, only a few little gasps and whimpers as he filled her. Once he was fully sheathed, Ren smiled and pulled Remus lower so they were pressing against each other, and they shared a few delicate kisses.

Remus then began to move, slowly and shallowly at first. He heard Ren's breath hitch as he pushed back in, followed by a soft moan. This encouraged Remus to pick up his speed. They managed to get a good rhythm going, and Ren began to buck her hips into his. She threw her head back into the pillow and let out a rather loud moan.

"Remusss." She hissed. The sound of his name coming from her lips, combined with the sensation of thrusting into her was almost enough to bring Remus to his peak, but he managed to overcome the urge to finish right there and then.

He placed a trail of light kisses along her neck and collarbone, sucking on her skin in order to leave a love bite. Remus grunted, softly, as Ren ran her fingers through his hair and wrapped her legs around him tighter so he could plunge deeper into her.

Suddenly, Remus felt Ren's walls contract around him and her whole body tensed as she moaned, loudly. Remus knew he couldn't hold back any longer, so he grabbed her and held her tightly as she thrusted roughly and spilled his seed into her, groaning as he did so.

Remus quickly realised that each twitch of his release resulted in Ren's walls tightening around him in response. He collapsed on top of her for a moment and they both just lay their in silence, panting heavily. Remus rolled off of her and the two of them lay still, staring up at the bed canopy, thin sheen of swear lacing over the two of them.

"We," Remus panted out. "Should have done that a long time ago."

Ren turned her head to him and then began to giggle, quietly. Remus turned to her and smiled. "What?" He asked, slightly confused.

"Can you imagine the others faces if they found out?"

**EEP! THEY DID THE DEED :3** **I know it's a pretty shit smut scene, it's my first actual sex scene. Leave a review letting me know how bad it was? Anyway, when it came to the Contraception Spell I just googled the Latin word for prevent... I dunno:/ Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. LEAVE ME A REVIEW, PLEASE! I'm not afraid to beg... Obviously.**

**I'm not going to lie, the next chapter will probably take ages, and I apologize for that now but not only is it a really, REALLY long one, but my exams are kicking off, so I doubt I'll have much time :( But until then... **

**Evie x**

**P.S. REVIEW PLEASE!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Wow, I actually managed to get this chapter done rather quickly. Miracles do happen. Granted, I'm meant to be revising but hey ho. Anyway, thanks to those who reviewed and favourited the story :3 ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: Do you even need to ask?**

Perfectly Content  
_Chapter 13_

Ren's eyes fluttered open as the sunlight began to seep through her bed curtains.

Although she had enjoyed her first week at Hogwarts, Ren welcomed the weekend with open arms. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and wondering what time it was. The soft sounds of her sleeping friends suggested that it was early.

Slowly, Ren pulled the curtains back, wincing slightly as the full glare of the sunlight hit her. Her eyes found the small digital clock that sat on her dresser. She was right when she guessed it was early. Quarter to seven to be precise. As quietly as she could, so she didn't disturb the other girls, Ren pushed the sheets off of her body and swung her legs off the bed. Her fluffy socks shielded her feet from the cold stone floor, which she was grateful for.

James, being the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, had decided to hold the team tryouts at eleven o'clock that day. Ren had decided that she might as well try out seeing as the team needed a new chaser.

She was hoping that if she made the team it would give her a sense of belonging at Hogwarts, seeing as everyone else seemed to have a little quirk or trait that they're known for. Lily, for example, was the kind and caring Head Girl, Sirius was the cool and confident womanizer, Dorcas, the quirky flower child and James was the lovable prankster who had an infatuation for Lily. Ren didn't really want to be labelled as 'the New Girl' for the rest of the year.

Seeing as she had a good number of hours to kill until the tryouts, Ren needed to think of a way to kill time. She silently crossed the room and looked out of the window. Surveying the grounds, Ren could see that the summer days were long gone. It was still sunny, but a light frost was beginning to set. The mass of land looked beautiful from her view, and Ren suddenly had the distinct urge to explore.

Since being here Ren hadn't had the chance to have a good look around, much to her dismay. But what better time to explore then when most of the school was still asleep? She would be able to explore without interruption.

Ren headed back to her dresser and opened the top draw slowly, trying to avoid waking her friends. She carefully began to root through her clothes, eventually finding something suitable. She then headed to the bathroom to change. Five minutes later, Ren emerged ready to brace the chilly weather. She wore a scruffy old pair of jeans paired with an oversized cream, woollen jumper that had once belonged to her Dad, and under said jumper she was wearing a number of additional layers.

Ren quietly pulled her trunk from underneath her bed and extracted her large, carci green parker coat from it, as well as a woollen scarf, gloves and a beanie hat, and then she sat on her bed and began to pull on her Converse.

She decided she would leave Lily a note because she had no doubt that the redhead would begin to worry when she woke up and saw Ren's empty bed. She grabbed some spare parchment and a Muggle pen that she had brought from home, and scribbled _'Gone Exploring.'_ Then, after placing the parchment on her pillow, Ren pulled on her coat, stuffed the hat, gloves and scarf in her rucksack, and left the room, not making any sound as she did so.

Ren met no one on her journey down to the Great Hall, and by the time she reached the Hall, it was ten past seven. There were no other students, and only two professors; Professor Kettleburn and Professor Sprout. Flashing the two Professors a quick smile, Ren headed to the empty Gryffindor table. She ate her scrambled eggs and toast as quickly as possible, eager to begin exploring because while the Hogwarts grounds may not have been as big as Durmstrangs, they were just as impressive.

When she had finished eating, Ren began to wrap the scarf around her neck, place the hat on her head and pull on the gloves. She could feel the eyes of the professors on her, no doubt curious as to why she was awake so early. Ren then poured herself another large mug of tea and stood up. She walked towards the exit, taking the mug with her, and as she walked Ren ignored the feeling of the professors watching her.

Surprisingly, the large front doors were already open, and the moment Ren stepped outside she was grateful for the warmth that both her clothes and the hot tea provided her with. Summer had well and truly left them.

Ren strolled down the pathway, clutching the mug between her hands. She passed the Greenhouses, the Clock Tower courtyard, the Groundskeepers hut until she finally came to the Great Stone Viaduct.

The Viaduct was a large bridge, constructed of white stone, that spanned over a large chasm and connected the grounds with the Viaduct Courtyard. On each side of the Viaduct walkway there were stone safety balustrades to prevent people from falling, and the walkway had iron torches on either side to provide lighting at night.

When Ren was halfway across the vast stone bridge she stopped and leant against the waist-high wall, propped up on her elbows. She began to survey the land in front of her and found herself getting lost in thought.

It had been five days since she and Remus had had sex, but it didn't seem that long at all. Already Ren's time at Hogwarts was beginning to fly by, much to her dismay. She had felt more at home at Hogwarts in the first week then she ever had at Durmstrang. She knew Ollie did as well. The twelve year old boy had never smiled as much as he did now while they had been at Durmstrang, and Ren was glad that he would be able to grow up in a school that he enjoyed.

Vanessa, however, was another story. Ren had only seen her sister a handful of times in the past week, and each time Vanessa had had at least two friends with her. She was one of those girls who liked to do things in packs. However, each meeting had been surprisingly pleasant. No snide comments or glares, just a quick "How're you?" followed by a "Fine thanks." And sometimes even a small smile. But even though Vanessa had undoubtedly made a tonne of new friends, Ren knew that she missed her old ones very badly. Not that she understood why. In Ren's opinion, Vanessa was better off without them.

Ren pulled herself from her thoughts and focused her attention of the view once more. It was truly spectacular. Not only could she see each site that she passed on her way to the Viaduct, but the castle itself in all it's magnificent glory.

Suddenly, Ren's fingers began to twitch and she found herself with the familiar urge to draw. Setting the mug down on the wall, Ren reached for the rucksack that lay at her feet and pulled out her sketchpad and, after a good root around, a pencil. Then, having found a clear page, she began to draw.

Exactly how long she remained there Ren wasn't sure, but she knew she was there for a very long time because drawing soon began to take shape. Pencil drawing and shading had always been one of Ren's specialities. She enjoyed being able to transfer something onto paper, making sure every detail was perfect. Sometimes she didn't even need something to copy. She would just be able to draw from memory, although Ren preferred having something to base the drawing off.

The art Professor had been particularly impressed by her drawings, having eventually managed to persuade Ren to show him her sketchbook. Ren loved her art lessons at Hogwarts. There was always a relaxed attitude in the classroom, much to Ren's preference. The Professor would turn on the small radio and let the students decide what they wanted to do as long as they produced a final piece by the end of the school year, as well as development work for said piece. They had to choose a theme and base their work around it, and Ren had chosen people, so she basically had to do loads of portraits.

Seeing as the art students were permitted to use the classroom in their free time, Ren had spent a lot of her spare time in there, and had already produced three paintings, each of which had been of a persons back or torso. She was yet to tackle a facial portrait because she had always struggled drawing noses, eyebrows and hair. As well as her three portraits, Ren had also produced two other paintings. One of her owl, Strix, and the other of one of the large plush armchairs in the Gryffindor Common Room. A soft voice suddenly broke the silence.

"The view is quite breathtaking is it not, my dear?"

Ren jumped violently, and spun around quickly. There, kitted out in warm looking robes, a tall wizard hat, a woollen hand muff and a badly knitted scarf, stood Professor Dumbledore himself.

"Professor!" Ren spluttered, straightening up. "G-Good morning, Sir." Her breath made little puffs in the cold air, and the Headmaster smiled warmly at her.

"Forgive me for startling you. It would have been wise for me to make my presence known before speaking. A small cough would have serviced, I'm sure." He said, calmly, joining her by the wall.

"Oh, no it's fine." Ren said, smiling back at the old man. "I shouldn't have been so… immersed in my work." Dumbledore chuckled lightly at her.

"Nonsense, my dear. It's refreshing to see a student appreciate the views of Hogwarts in such a way." He said, turning to overlook the scene which Ren has spent the last number of hours observing.

Ren did the same, feeling oddly relaxed by his presence, which was odd to say the least. Whenever she had been in the presence of the Headmaster at Durmstrang, Igor Karkaroff, Ren had always felt extremely on edge. Karkaroff had treated his students much like slaves, and didn't respect any of them. However he would treat the older girls more favourably than any of the students, and Ren had always gone out of her way to avoid him.

Dumbledore, however, couldn't have been more different. "And forgive me for peeking, dear child, but you're work is most impressive. Almost like a photograph." Dumbledore added, softly. Ren couldn't help the breath that crept over her cheeks.

"Thank you, Sir." She said, quietly.

"You're most welcome. I'm sure you can only imagine my surprise when upon my Saturday morning stroll, I came across someone so engrossed in what they were doing it was as if they had completely detached themselves from their surroundings entirely." Dumbledore said, causing Ren to smile, sheepishly.

"Yeah, I'm trying to kick the habit." She said, and Dumbledore raised his bushy white eyebrows, gently.

"Oh really? I can't imagine why you would want to. Being able to express that much interest in something is a trait I would never wish to lose." He said, and Ren smiled.

"I suppose. But if it means that I'm totally oblivious to the arrival of the Headmaster then it's causing some problems." She told him, to which the old man let out a light chuckle.

"A valid point." He said, still smiling. "Well Miss Gallagher, I do believe you should be making your way down to the Quidditch Pitch for the tryouts." Ren looked up at him in surprise.

"How did you know?" She asked. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.

"Mister Potter and Mister Black have never been accustomed to keeping things quiet." Was all he said, and Ren let out a small chuckle.

"Yeah I'm beginning to realise that." She said, before closing her sketchpad and placing it back into her rucksack. "Well, erm…" She straightened up and looked up at Dumbledore, who still had that kind smile on his face. "Thanks, Sir." Ren went to pick up the empty mug, only to have Dumbledore hold up a hand in protest.

"Leave that to me. You just make your way to the Pitch." He said. Ren smiled at him before retracting her hand.

"Thank you." She said. "Goodbye Sir."

"I believe Fairfarren to be more appropriate." Dumbledore said with a knowing twinkle in his eye. Ren stared at the old man standing before her and smiled.

"Fairfarren then Sir." She said, and made her way past him, unable to wipe the smile from her face, even when she was almost out of the Viaduct.

"Oh, and Miss Gallagher?" Dumbledore called after her. Ren stopped and turned to him. "Good luck."

Still grinning, Ren just nodded in thanks before turning and heading towards the Pitch. That encounter had left Ren in a particularly cheery mood. Who would have thought Dumbledore had read one of Ren's favourite books? Well, actually that hadn't been what had left Ren rather stunned. It was the fact that he _knew_ that _'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'_ was one of Ren's favourites. An image popped into Ren's head of Dumbledore sat in front of a blazing fire, a mug of hot chocolate beside him as he read the old book. Ren stifled a chuckle as she reached the Pitch.

It was empty, not that Ren was really surprised. She pulled back her sleeve slightly and checked her watch. Quarter to eleven! Ren had spent over three hours drawing! The time had flown by, and yet she was still the first one on the Pitch. Oh well, the others would arrive soon. Ren took a seat in the lower stands and pulled out her sketchbook. She flicked through the pages until she found something she needed to work on. Deciding upon a drawing she had started during the summer of Vanessa's cat, Ivory, Ren began to add more detail to the drawing.

Once again, she became so immersed in this task, she didn't notice the arrival of two boys five minutes later until one of the spoke from over her shoulder.

"Bloody hell, Prongs, we've got the next Picasso over here!"

For the second time that morning, Ren found herself jumping violently in surprise. She spun around and ended up face to face with Sirius Black. "Morning, Brown-Eyes." He purred. Ren pulled back slightly and smiled.

"Morning, Fonzy." She said, causing Sirius to grin at her. Ren turned and saw James lugging a large, heavy looking chest across the field.

"Morning Ren!" He called, raising a hand to wave. However when he dropped the chests left handle, the left side of the chest fell and landed on James' foot. "Bollocks!" James shouted in pain. He went to grab his foot, dropping the right side of the chest on his right foot. "Shit!"

Sirius was now in fits of laughter at his friend's misfortune, clutching his side as he laughed. Ren had trouble preventing a giggle escaping her lips, and in the end she threw caution to the wind and joined Sirius in stitches of laughter as James sunk to the ground, clutching both of his booted feet. Ren felt tears welling up in her eyes as she laughed. "It's not funny!" James shouted. "It fucking hurts!"

Sirius managed to calm himself for a second, bracing himself to speak, only to dissolve into laughter once again. Ren rose from her bench and went over to James. She extended a hand, still laughing, and James took it and pulled himself up. "Yeah, hardy-fucking-ha. Now get your shit together you two, or you're off the team." James said, waggling his finger at them in an attempt to scold the two of them.

"I'm not even on the team." Ren said, and James paused.

"Good point." He said. "That only goes for you then, Padfoot!" He called over to his friend, who was still in the stands.

Ren turned to Sirius, expecting to see him smirking at James and ready with a witty comeback, but instead she saw Sirius standing, quietly, her sketchbook open in his hands. He was looking through it with great interest.

"Oi!"

Ren hurried over to him and tried to snatch the pad back. Sirius just turned, not drawing his gaze from the pages. "Sirius, give it back." Ren said, reaching for it again. James suddenly popped up behind Sirius and stared at her book from other his friends shoulder.

"This is really good stuff, Ren." Sirius said, turning a page.

"Thanks, now give it back." Ren said, sharply.

"In a minute." Sirius mumbled, turning another page.

"Merlin…" James murmured. "Is that… Is that Hogwarts?" He asked as Ren continued to reach for the book. They were now gaping at the drawing she had started that morning.

"What? Oh, yeah," She said. "I went up to the Viaduct this morning." Sirius looked up, abruptly.

"Is that where you were?" He asked, and Ren nodded.

"I left Lily a note."

"Yeah well, 'Gone exploring' doesn't really specify a place, does it?" Sirius asked, to which Ren shrugged.

"Can I have my book back…?" She held out her hand. "… Please?" Sirius smiled and handed it to her.

"You've got a gift." He said as Ren took the book from him. She only smiled, blushing slightly, before placing the book back in her bag.

"Heads up, here come the crowds." James said, suddenly. Ren looked towards the castle and sure enough, a rather large crowd was approaching the Pitch.

"I thought these were just tryouts." Ren said, somewhat confused.

"They are." James told her. "But the other houses like to come and check out the competition."

The three of them made their way onto the Pitch, and a number of minutes later the stands had small clusters of people sitting in them. The people who were trying out had all joined James, Sirius and Ren on the Pitch. "Morning all." James addressed the group.

Ren marvelled at the way he spoke so freely to the large group. She had never been particularly comfortable with speaking to crowds of people. "Now before we begin, I would like everyone who is trying out for Chaser on my left, and everyone trying out for Keeper on my right."

The crowd began to split itself up and Ren was soon standing amongst her competition, all of whom were big, brawny boys in their sixth or seventh year. One particularly arrogant looking boy with dark brown hair styled in a quiff kept glancing at Ren and smirking before whispering things to the boy next to him.

Ren peered over to the Keeper group and saw that the group was also mostly made up of boys like the ones in her own, with the exception of one. Standing amidst the tall, muscular boys was a small scrawny second year boy. Ren knew he was a second year because she vaguely leaving the Charms classroom with Ollie. He had wispy, golden blonde hair that fell into his eyes and down to his shoulder, and big brown eyes. The poor boy looked positively terrified.

"Okay, we're going to have each Keeper go up and then each Chaser will go up and have five shots at the hoops. Okay?" James asked, and there was a murmur of agreement throughout the group.

And so the tryouts began.

It was actually a rather complicated cycle to get a hold of. Each Keeper would fly up to defend the hoops against each of the Chasers. It was a very long process and when you weren't up in the air, you were sat in the stands with the Gryffindor team.

Ren found that she liked each of the team members very much, they were a nice bunch. As well as James, there was a Chaser by the name of Aaron Barton, who was a sixth year. Sirius' fellow Beater was a boy named Jason Cooper, who was also in his sixth year. And the team Seeker was a girl named Quinn O'Farrell, who had a thick Irish accent and was in her fifth year.

Quinn was Ren's favourite member of the team. She wore large, thick-framed glasses, had a face that was covered in freckles and very, very, very curly ginger hair that made Ren's hair look tame. She also had an infectious laugh that sounded somewhat like a cackle. But not a nasty cackle. Ren and Quinn had been happily discussing the Quidditch League until James called Quinn over to him.

"Oh, Jesus Christ." Quinn mumbled. "Be right back." She said, and then rose from her seat and walked over to James. Ren tried to turn her attention back to the tryouts, but the arrival of someone taking Quinn's seat prevented her from doing so. It was that cocky boy who had been eyeing her up earlier.

"Renee, right?" He asked, flashing a smile at Ren. His voice was smooth but arrogant. Ren turned to him and forced a smile.

"Ren." She said, and the boys blue eyes twinkled.

"It's nice to meet you, Ren. I'm Elliot Oakes" He said, offering her his hand. Ren took it, smiling politely, before returning her attention to the tryouts. She was hoping Elliot would take the hint.

But he didn't. "So, you're trying out for Chaser too?" Ren refrained from sighing aloud and drew her eyes from the second year who was the first Keeper to take to the air, and turned back to Elliot.

"Uh-huh." She said, and Elliot raised an eyebrow.

"Well, no hard feelings at the outcome." He said, still smiling at her with that arrogant, pompous smile.

"Uh-huh." Ren turned back just in time to see the second year take off and rise to the goals. _'He's certainly a steady flyer'_ Ren thought to herself, only to be interrupted by a chuckle coming from Elliot.

"This'll be good." He said. Ren's brow furrowed but she didn't take her eyes off the small boy.

"What's that meant to mean?" She asked.

"Well look at him. He's hardly Keeper material." Elliot said. Ren felt herself becoming more and more irritated by the boy. Sure Keepers were normally well-built, athletic looking players, but still…

"You shouldn't underestimate someone based on their appearance. Now excuse me." And with that, Ren rose and went to stand on her own. _'What a pompous bastard.'_ She thought to herself.

She looked up to the small boy in the sky and prayed that he would prove Elliot wrong. As Ren watched the boy, she felt a grin begin to spread on her face. The boy was certainly proving that you didn't need to be big to be able to defend the hoops. He was brilliant! One by one, as the Chasers tried to score, the boy went on to block every single shot! When each Chaser descended from the air they looked particularly sullen faced at being beaten by a twelve year old.

Ren cheered for the boy as he caught Elliot's fifth shot with ease, and when Elliot reached the ground he slammed his broom down on the grass in frustration.

"Gallagher! You're up!"

Ren turned to see James and Sirius standing a few meters to her left. James was holding a clipboard and had a silver whistle hanging from his neck. Ren had never seen him looking so serious.

"Gallagher? Since when an I Gallagher?" Ren asked, shrugging off her coat as she walked towards the two boys.

"Since James is in Quidditch mode." Sirius said, smirking at her as she approached them.

"Oh I see." Ren said. She threw her coat to Sirius, who caught it with ease, and picked up a broomstick. "Wish me luck." She said as she mounted the broom.

"Can't do that I'm afraid. It would be showing favouritism." Sirius said with a wink, and Ren laughed.

"Ahh, of course." She said. "See you in a bit then." And she took off.

Ren rose up to the goalposts where the small boy was waiting, Quaffle in hand. "Hi." She said, smiling, as she stopped her broom next to his.

"Hello." He said in a timid voice.

"I'm Ren."

"I know." The boy said. "You're Ollie's sister." Ren nodded in confirmation.

"What's your name?" She asked.

"Russell."

"Well Russell," Ren adjusted herself on her broom. "You're kicking ass. Keep it up." Russell flushed under her praise.

"Thanks-"

"-I hate to break up this mothers meeting, but we really have to get a move on!"

Russell and Ren turned to the source of interruption. James was staring up at the two of them, eyes blazing. Sirius stood to his right, grinning.

"Alright! Alright! Keep your knickers on!" Ren called back.

"They're boxers, actually!" James shouted up to them. Ren laughed and turned to Russell.

"You ready?" She asked him, and Russell nodded and threw her the Quaffle. Ren caught it and steered her broom away from him. She did a complete circle of the Pitch before flying back to the rings.

It felt good to fly again. She had missed the wind flying through her hair, the breeze hitting her face, and the feeling of adrenalin coursing through her body. As she approached the goals Ren began to focus. She blocked out the buzzing of the crowd and the roaring wind. The next five minutes passed in the blink of an eye. She managed to score three times out of five against Russell. Three times more than anyone else.

Ren and Russell descended from the air together, offering each other praise as they did so. "You were bloody brilliant." Ren told the young boy, who blushed.

"But the others still have to go up. They could be better than me." He said, and Ren shrugged.

"None of them will be as good as you." She said as her feet touched the ground. Both she and Russell dismounted their brooms and when they reached the stands they sat down together, about a meter from the rest of the people trying out.

Ren watched as the second Keeper flew up into the air and the first Chaser joined him. As Ren suspected, the Keeper didn't hold a torch to Russell, and when it came to her second go, she scored all five goals with ease. As she did with the next Keeper, and the next one, and the next one. When all five Keepers and all six Keepers had finished, Ren felt rather proud of herself. As well as the two shots Russell had saved, she had only missed three other shots. So out of her twenty five total shots, she had scored twenty times.

She didn't know what rank that put her in seeing as she had spent most of the time she wasn't in the air chatting with Russell and Quinn instead of watching the competition, so when James called everyone over she didn't really know what to expect.

"You all did really well, it was seriously impressive to watch, but we have a clear winner for both the Keeper and the Chaser." James said. Sirius stood next to him, grey eyes twinkling. "So, the new Keeper is…" James paused, obviously for dramatic effect. "Russell Parker."

Ren grinned and turned to Russell, who looked completely dumbfounded. The group applauded politely as James instructed Russell to stand with the rest of the Gryffindor team.

"T-thank you." Russell stammered as his new teammates congratulated him. James grinned at the small boy and turned back to the group.

"And the new Chaser is…" James trailed off once more, and Ren noticed Elliot stand up a little straighter. "Ren Gallagher!" James called out, pointing dramatically at her. Ren's eyes widened and she let out a small shriek of surprise before running forward and practically jumping on James. The group behind her laughed as they clapped.

"Thank you!" Ren said to James, who was trying to readjust his glasses. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" James laughed as she released him and leapt into Sirius' arms. Sirius laughed and wrapped his arms her waist and hoisted her into the air, spinning her around like he had done on the night she had been sorted into Gryffindor.

"That's bullshit!" Came a voice from behind them. Sirius placed Ren back on the ground but kept one arm around her waist as she turned to see who the voice belonged to.

Elliot Oakes was standing amongst the others, looking royally pissed off. "You only chose her because she's your friend-" Sirius and James were both scowling at the boy. "-and she probably slept with you both so you'd pick her, or something!" Elliot scoffed. Ren raised an eyebrow and spoke before either James or Sirius could retaliate.

"So I bribed them did I? It didn't have anything to do with the fact that I was maybe just better than you?" She asked, shrugging. It may have sounded arrogant but Ren wasn't going to let this arsehole insinuate that she was a dirty player.

"Which she was." Came Quinn's voice from behind her, and murmurs of agreement came from the rest of the team. Ren smiled, sweetly, at Elliot.

"So you might just want to climb down from your high Hippogriff." She said to him. Elliot simply turned away, shaking his head.

"It's bullshit. Bullshit." He murmured.

"It's not bullshit, thank you very much, Elliot. And even if Ren hadn't been chosen, it wouldn't have been you, you complete and utter prat." James said.

"Yeah, but you know what is bullshit?" Sirius asked the boy, still not removing his hand from Ren's hip. In fact, Ren felt his grip tighten protectively. "Your haircut. What the fuck is up with that?" Sirius smirked as Elliot's hand shot up to his hair.

"Anyway, thanks for trying out. Better luck next time." James said with a placid smile. Elliot scowled and went to storm off, only to be stopped by Ren calling after him.

"Oh, and Elliot?" The boy turned. "No hard feelings over the outcome." She smiled, sweetly, as the boy turned and strutted off.

**Sooo? Leave me a review telling me what you think :)**

**Evie x**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey everyone:) Here's an update, yaaaay. I apologize in advance for any mistakes in this chapter, and for all of those in the last chapter, good God there were some appalling ones. Anyway, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I own nada**

Perfectly Content  
_Chapter 14_

By the time three o'clock rolled around, the group had split up and were all doing their own thing.

Sirius and James were upstairs in the dormitory planning the new Quidditch rota for the Gryffindor team. Peter was sitting by the fire in the Common Room, writing a letter to the Muggle girl Zoe, which he would take to the Post Office in Hogsmeade next weekend to have delivered the Muggle way. And Remus was sat by the window in the Common Room, his copy of _A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration_ lying open on the table before him.

However Remus had more pressing things on his mind than the correct technique of the Bird-Conjuring Charm.

The full moon was in just over a week's time on the sixteenth of September, just nine days away. As well as his usual pre-moon jitters, Remus found that a new set of nerves had settled in the pit of his stomach. Before James, Sirius and Peter had figured out about his Lycanthropy, Remus had always got the very same feeling.

It was sort of like guilt. He had felt bad keeping such a huge secret from his three best friends, although he had known that he couldn't have risked telling them. However, the feeling had ebbed slightly when, in their second year, his friends had figured out his secret and accepted it. His appreciation for his friends had only grown when they had made the decision to become Animagi in order to keep him company. Their presence during his 'time of the month' made his transformations far less painful seeing as their company distracted him enough to stop him attacking himself.

But now the guilt was back and Remus knew why.

Having become so close with Ren, Remus couldn't help but feel bad that he was keeping this secret from her. He kind of felt as though he should have told her about it from the moment they entered their Friends with Benefits relationship. What would Ren think is she found out that she had had sex with a werewolf? Would it change her opinion of him? The idea of Ren beginning to shun him in disgust made Remus' heart ache.

She had become one of his closest friends and if there was a possibility that his Lycanthropy would drive her away, was it really worth telling her? Of course it was. If he made the decision to keep his secret from her, then Remus was sure that the constant feeling of guilt would eat him away on the inside. But what if she did freak out? What is she was truly repulsed that she had slept with a werewolf?

Remus shook his head and rubbed his eyes. Somehow (and he knew that it sounded bias because he wanted her to accept him), Remus had a feeling that Ren wouldn't mind. Or at least he hoped she wouldn't. If James, Sirius and Peter had been able to accept it, maybe Ren would too.

Remus sighed.

"_Wishful thinking mate."_ His inner wolf whispered in his ear. During the run up to the full moon, Remus' inner wolf would always make an appearance, commentating on everything that happened with snide, lewd remarks. Normally Remus was able to handle the snarky wolf, but ever since he had met Ren the voice would become incredibly lascivious and licentious whenever she was around.

Remus rubbed his temple and let out a small groan as he began to feel a headache kicking in. The suggestive voice was becoming increasingly annoying. It made Remus feel like he had swapped consciences with Sirius.

He didn't know how Sirius dealt with all the provocative thoughts that ran through his head twenty four seven, when Remus could barely manage them for the days leading up to the full moon. Remus grimaced at the thought of still having to put up with his inner wolf for another nine days. It was bloody exhausting.

Since having sex last Monday, Remus and Ren had successfully managed to meet up secretly and put that time to good use, whether that time had been free periods or during lunch and break times. Remus found himself becoming increasingly more feral and carnal, not that Ren seemed to mind as he remembered her writhing beneath him two days previously, trying to contain the loud moans that threatened to escape her swollen lips.

Remus exhaled in frustration and reached for his bag. He slammed the Transfiguration book shut and shoved in into the tattered old rucksack. As he did this, his fingers brushed against something thin and… rectangular? He pulled the object free from his bag and smiled slightly upon seeing the bar of Honeydukes chocolate. He tore it open and took a bite. The smooth, creamy taste made Remus visibly relax, and he leant back into the armchair, his ratty mood diminishing almost instantly.

Glancing out the window to his side, Remus could just make out the Quidditch Pitch in the distance, and he smiled softly as he recalled the tryouts. Ren had kicked ass. Remus remembered the looks of pure surprise on James' and Sirius' faces from where he had been sat in the stands. He had known before it had even been announced that Ren would be the new Chaser.

Remus was truly happy for his friend. Throughout the week, Remus had noticed that towards the evenings Ren tented to get restless and fidgety. He hoped that her new role on the Quidditch team would help calm her down. Remus was also glad that the small second year had been made the Keeper. That had been a bloody surprise if there ever was one.

Remus and Peter had made their way down to the Pitch from the stands just in time to see that pompous arsehole, Elliot Oaks, storming away from the group. He had obviously not been happy with the outcome.

He smirked at the memory. The moment Ren had seen Remus approaching, she had run over and threw her arms around his neck. He had congratulated her and hugged her back, but Ren hadn't seemed to hear him. She had been breathless with excitement as they rejoined the Gryffindor team before heading up to the castle for a celebratory lunch.

As Remus finished the chocolate bar, he began to wonder what James, Sirius and Peter would think about his contemplation of revealing his 'furry little problem' to Ren. He decided that he would ask for their opinions later that night. As much as Remus wanted to tell Ren, if the boys advised him against it he would listen to them.

The sound of footsteps on the stone staircase caused Remus to jump slightly. This was another side effect of the approaching full moon; he was always extra jumpy and would often feel immense paranoia.

Remus turned to see Sirius bounding down the last few steps and into the Common Room. He was wearing a navy blue polo shirt and dark grey chinos, looking just as cool as ever. He looked around the Common Room and when he spotted Remus he flashed his friend a warm smile before heading over to him.

"Alright, Moony?" Sirius asked as he sat down in a chair on Remus' left. The werewolf nodded.

"Tired." He replied. Sirius smiled again.

"Yeah, I bet." He said. "Anyway, have you seen Ren? I've got her copy of the new Quidditch rota for her."

Remus straightened up, slightly.

"_No I haven't seen her you mangy mutt, and if I had I wouldn't tell you!"_ His inner wolf snapped, and Remus mentally scolded himself for addressing his friend in such a way, even if it was in his head.

"No I haven't, sorry. I haven't seen her since lunch." Remus told his friend.

The dark haired boy's brow furrowed and he raised a hand to itch his chin. Sirius had recently forgone shaving, and as a result was beginning to grow dark stubble over his jaw which only seemed to boost his morale and popularity with the female body of Hogwarts.

"Do you have any idea where she could be?" Sirius asked. Remus thought for a moment.

"You could try the art rooms." He suggested. "They're open to seventh year students."

"_What the fuck?! Why did you tell him that?!"_ The wolf protested, but Remus ignored the voice and kept his eyes on Sirius, who grinned at him.

"Good idea, cheers Moony." He rose from his chair and was about to make for the Portrait Hole when he stopped. "Are you sure you're alright, mate?" He asked, his features laced with concern. Remus smiled, weakly.

"Yeah, I just…" Remus' mind flashed to Ren. "I just... I've got something to talk to you and the boys about later tonight. It's nothing big, don't worry." Okay so that last part may have been a lie, but Remus knew that if Sirius thought something was up he wouldn't leave Remus alone until he found out what was wrong.

Sirius still didn't look totally convinced.

"Okay." He said, hesitantly. "I'll see you in a bit." And with that, Sirius walked across the room without a backward glance.

So it was decided. That night Remus would ask his three best friends for their opinion on whether or not he should reveal his deepest secret to Ren.

* * *

"Hey Sirius." Said the husky voice of a girl with strawberry blonde hair, as she approached the boy in the corridor. Sirius flashed a smile in her direction.

"Hey…" He trailed off just as they passed each other. Huh. What was her name again? Becky? Bethany? Whatever, it didn't matter.

Sirius trotted down another flight of stairs until he came to the fifth floor. Apparently the art rooms were located on this floor and, according to Remus; they were where Ren was most likely be.

The raven-haired boy held the parchment with a copy of the new Quidditch rota in his hand, tightly. James had flashed him a knowing grin when Sirius had offered to deliver Ren's copy to her. Thankfully, James wasn't as knowing as he would like to believe. The bespectacled boy still thought that Sirius simply wished to sleep with Ren, much to Sirius' relief. He didn't want anyone to know about these weird feelings that had begun to develop, whatever they were.

Just as Sirius passed the Prefects Bathroom, the faint sound of music reached his ears. He couldn't make out of it, just the faint sound of a… harmonica? Without hesitation Sirius followed the sound and soon came to a door at the end of the corridor that stood slightly ajar.

As quietly as a mouse. Sirius pushed the wooden door open and peered in. The music was now much clearer, and Sirius recognized the low tones of _I Want You_ by Bob Dylan. The voice was as raw and simple as the words which it sang, which were simply beautiful. Neither Bob's voice nor lyrics were ever predictable, and it was one of the reasons why Sirius had always loved the artist.

Sirius gazed around the room, unable to stop his curiosity getting the best of him seeing as he had never been in the art rooms before. There was a collection of large, wooden tables dotted around the room and each table had up to five stools placed around it. On the stone walls were many pieces of artwork that Sirius assumed was done by the students. From paintings to drawings, colourful to black and white, and there were even pieces pinned to the ceiling which Sirius had to crane his neck to get a good look at.

A vast window was on the wall opposite the door, in front of which sat a desk which Sirius guessed belonged to the Professor. On said desk sat a small radio, which was the source of the music filling the room.

Sirius glanced over each table until his eyes landed on the corner table near the window. There, with her back to him and head down, sat Ren. Or at least he suspected it was Ren. As far as Sirius recalled there was no other girl in the seventh year with a head of curls like hers. A Muggle pencil could be seen in her hand and she seemed completely immersed in drawing. Not wishing to make her jump, Sirius chose to announce himself instead of simply waltzing into the room.

"Knock, knock." He said over the music, tapping his knuckles on the door, loudly. Ren did indeed jump, ever so slightly, yet she didn't seem too flustered. When she turned to see who was disturbing her, she visibly relaxed and smiled when she saw it was Sirius.

"You know, I hate it when people do that." She said, turning back to her work as Sirius entered the room and walked over to her.

"Do what?" He asked, pulling a stool up beside hers and sitting down.

"Say 'knock, knock' when they're already in the room." Ren said, still grinning, slightly, as she continued to draw, not removing her gaze from her work. Sirius chuckled.

"Well I just thought I'd make myself known." He said, his eyes flickering down to her work. However Sirius had trouble looking away once his eyes settled on the parchment.

A body, whose head wasn't visible, was holding a guitar and the hands of the body were paused in mid-strum. It could have well been an enlarged black and white photograph. The shadowing and detail was simply incredible. "Bloody hell." Sirius murmured, and when Ren looked up and saw him gawking at her work, a blush crept up on her cheeks.

"You like it?" She asked, and Sirius nodded.

"It's amazing." He told her before looking up and meeting her eyes. "Is there anything you can't do?" Ren snorted in amusement.

"You make me out to be some sort of superwoman."

"Well as far as I know you are. You're smart, funny, good at Quidditch, _amazing_ at drawing-"

"-Okay! Okay! Ease up on the compliments!" Ren interrupted. Sirius grinned as she flushed under his praise.

"It's true! Come on, what are you bad at?" He asked. Ren placed her pencil down and straightened up.

"Well," She paused. "I'm terrible at cooking." Sirius raised his brows in surprise.

"Really? I would have thought you'd have been good at cooking. What with working in a pub and all." He said, to which Ren shrugged as she turned to him.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but no. I can prep the food but when it comes to _actually_ cooking it… Yeah, I'm terrible."

"Seriously?"

"Yep. I've burnt water." She said, causing Sirius to laugh.

"I'm amazing at cooking." He said, a smirk plastered on his handsome face.

"Oh yeah?" Ren asked, an eyebrow quirked.

"Yeah. I can cook anything you want."

"I'll take your word for it." Ren said. Sirius couldn't help but smile, warmly, at her.

"Anyway, I'm here to give you your copy of the Quidditch rota." He said, holding out the parchment that was still in his hand. "James and I just finished it."

"Oh, thanks." Ren took the parchment and studied it for a minute. "Wow. That's a lot of practice." She said. "Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday."

"Wait until the season starts. Last year James had us practising ever day." Sirius told her, and Ren's eyes widened.

"He takes this seriously, huh?" She said, reaching for the rucksack that lay at her feet.

"You have no idea." Sirius said, watching as Ren opened her bag and placed the rota safely inside. Once she had done so, Ren continued to root around the inside of the bag, obviously looking for something. "You alright?" Sirius asked when her brows furrowed in confusion.

"Yeah, I just can't find my wand." Ren said, before pausing. "Shit, I think I left it in the Library." She rubbed her forehead in annoyance. "_Shit._" She said again in frustration.

"Hey, it's fine. At least you know where it is. We can go and find it now if you like?" Sirius suggested, causing Ren to look at him.

"Are you sure? You don't have to come if you don't want to." She told him.

"No it's fine, come on." Sirius said, surprising himself with the kindness in his voice.

"Okay, one second. I just need to put this away." Ren said, motioning to her work. She picked up the large piece of parchment and carefully carried it over to a large stack of shelves that were lined up against one of the walls.

Sirius watched as she stretched up, attempting to place the parchment in the free space on one of the top shelves. When the large, cream jumper rode up, slightly, Sirius couldn't help but let his gaze wander over her arse, which were hugged by her jeans snugly.

Despite her tallness, Ren couldn't quite reach the spot on the shelf, so Sirius immediately jumped up to help her. He stood behind her and reached up, pushing the parchment onto the shelf, his body enveloping hers as she made sure the parchment was secure in its place. Sirius brought his arms down, and once she was sure of her works safety, Ren did the same before turning towards Sirius. "Thanks." She said, apparently unaware of their closeness. They were close enough for Sirius to inhale Ren's sweet, vanilla scent.

She smiled, gently, at him before heading back to the table and picking up her bag. Sirius turned to see her swinging the strap over her shoulder. "Ready?" She asked.

"I was born ready." Sirius, to which Ren raised an eyebrow.

"That's a tad dramatic seeing as we're just popping to the library." She said, and Sirius laughed.

"Maybe a little." He said. Ren turned off the radio and the two of them left the room shortly after.

The Hogwarts Library had two floors. The lower, accessed by the second floor, was a huge room with a high ceiling, filled with labyrinth like paths between bookshelves. The Restricted Section and the Librarian's desk were found on this floor, and Madame Pince's desk was located right next to the entrance of the Restricted Section in order to make sure no one tried to sneak in.

The upper floor, which could be accessed by either an entrance on the third floor or by a huge wooden staircase from the lower floor of the Library, consisted of a very large balcony overlooking the lower floor. On this balcony there were study tables dotted over the deep red carpeted floor, criss-crossed and walled with tall bookshelves, as well as the odd loveseat sofa or chintz armchair placed randomly over the place.

On both floors there were many rolling library ladders against the shelves, some that reached dizzying heights. Books could always be seen flying like birds from Madame Pince's desk, up to the shelves where they belonged. Natural light flooded in from the large, floor-to-ceiling windows that stood inbetween bookshelves.

Ren and Sirius entered through the third floor entrance, seeing as they had journeyed down from the fifth floor. When they reached the old, wooden double doors, Sirius took hold of one of the giant, oversized handles that were smooth and worn down to a light brown finish and pulled it open.

Sirius inhaled as he followed Ren throughout the upper level, weaving and winding until they came to the middle of the balcony. He let the scent of old, yellowing pages wash over him. That delicious, mouth-watering aroma of knowledge and anticipation. The scent that came only from pages, both new and old, being flicked through.

He may not have been the most avid reader, but Sirius did enjoy the occasional book from time to time, and he could certainly appreciate them.

Sirius was now leaning against the polished oak rails of the, Victorian staircase, watching Ren as she gracefully made her way over to a small wine coloured loveseat that sat near one of the walls. He noticed how it wasn't fully pushed against the wall, but was in fact a couple of feet from the wall. Sirius saw that next to the small sofa was a little table, and on that table sat a thin, light brown wand. "Ren?" He called to the girl who was currently skimming the surfaces of the study tables.

"Hm?" She answered while continuing to search for her wand.

"I think I've found it." Sirius said, and when Ren looked up, he pointed to the corner. Her eyes lit up when she spotted the wand, and she hurried over to it, with Sirius following after her.

"Thank Merlin for that." She said, and Sirius found himself admiring it as she picked it up. It was a very light brown, and Sirius could see that it had intricate, curly patterns carved along it that looked almost like leaves. It was thinner than his wand, and fitted into Ren's dainty hand perfectly.

"It's cute." Sirius said, but then frowned to himself. That was quite possibly the only time he had ever described anything as 'cute'.

"Huh? Oh yeah, thanks." Ren said. "Laurel wood, eleven and a half inches long, reasonably supple with a Hippogriff feather core." She recited, and Sirius' gaze shot up and met hers.

"Hippogriff feather?" He asked in surprise. Ren nodded at him.

"It's one of the most common cores in Sweden. Along with Fairy wings and Dragon Scales." She said. This was completely new information to Sirius.

"Shit, really?" He asked. Ren's wand differed completely from his ebony wand with a Dragon Heartstring core. Ren laughed.

"Is it really that much of a shock to you?" She asked, and Sirius nodded, vigorously.

"Yeah! I've only ever known people with-"

However Sirius didn't finish speaking, and instead dropped, quite suddenly, to the floor. He had glanced over the balcony and saw someone that made his blood turn cold.

Chelsea.

She was starting up the staircase with one of her Ravenclaw friends. Fortunately, she hadn't noticed Sirius.

"What the fu-?" Ren began, but Sirius quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her away her away from the edge of the balcony, still on all fours. "Sirius-" Ren pulled her hand free. "What the fuck?" She asked, completely bewildered.

"Chelsea!" Was all Sirius said before crawling behind the loveseat.

"Oh my God, you're seriously going to hide from-"

"-Ren-" Sirius popped his head up from behind the sofa. "-If you're going to talk to me, you're gonna' have to come and hide behind the sofa with me." He said, and when he peered towards the staircase, he saw that Chelsea had almost reached the top. "Hurry!" Ren looked torn.

"I…" She sighed. "Fine!"

"Thank you!"

Sirius let out a relieved sigh and ducked behind the sofa, and just as Ren crouched down by his side, Chelsea appeared at the top of the stairs. Sirius, ever so slightly, peered around the side of their – well, his - hiding place and saw her and her friend, Sirius pretty sure he had fingered at some point last year, head over to one of the large study tables and take a seat, removing books from their bags.

Bollocks. They were trapped.

"This is ridiculous!" Ren whispered. She was peering around the other side. "Are you really that scared of her?" She asked, turning back to Sirius, who gaped at her.

"Uh, yeah!" He whispered back "She's a Stage-Five clinger! I can't handle that!" Ren's eyes widened.

"Sirius!" She whisper-shouted. "You took her virginity?!" She asked, incredulously.

"No! Amos Diggory already shot that Hippogriff in the face. I just… I _think_ I had sex with her, and now she's really clingy-"

"-You think?"

"Okay, I can't remember everyone I have sex with! So sue me!"

"Oh, that is just repulsive!"

"Don't go all high and mighty on me! I bet you can't remember every person you've ever had sex with."

"I've only had sex with one person, thank you very much! Plus, I was in a stable relationship with them, which, from what I've heard, is more than can be said for you. Apparently you're a bit of a man-whore."

Sirius let out a long, whispered gasp.

"I have never - in all of my seventeen years – been exposed to such offensive rudeness!" He whispered, and Ren let out a quiet scoff, her arms folded over her chest.

"Oh please," She whispered. "Like that's the worst thing you've ever been called." Sirius paused.

"Well… no… but it hurt coming from you!"

They looked each other in the eye, and suddenly found themselves pressing their hands to their mouths in attempt to mask their giggles.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" Ren whispered to him, and Sirius grinned.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He said in a lofty tone. Ren smiled and leant against the back of the sofa.

"Well, it looks like we're stuck here for a while if you're dead intent on avoiding Medusa." She said, and Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"You say that as if it's a bad thing." He whispered, smirking.

"Isn't it?" The smirk fell.

"Listen missy," He whispered, pointing a finger at her. "Your sass will get you no where."

"Oh I beg to differ." She whispered back, grinning.

The two of them decided that they may as well get comfy, and they both ended up sitting cross-legged with their backs against the sofa, speaking in hushed whispers.

"Tell me more about the stars." Sirius requested after fifteen minutes of being trapped. Ren turned her head and met his eye.

"What do you want to know?" Sirius paused. What did he want to know? He hadn't learnt much about the stars in his Astronomy lessons seeing as James and himself had spent the classes coming up with (and then doing) as many things as possible that would make Professor Sinistra want to hit them. These acts included saying "I totally agree" after everything she said, singing opera in class, and one time even bringing a first year into the lesson, claiming that he was their new pet. So it was no wonder that Sirius didn't know much about the subject. He had, however, liked the story of the Seven Sisters, maybe there was more to that.

"Do you know anything else about the Seven Sisters?" He asked, quietly.

"Like what?" Ren whispered back.

"Err, I don't know. Did they have names, or something?"

"Oh yeah, I think I cam remember them." She turned to face him fully. "Let's see, there's Alcyone, Celaeno, Electra, Asterope, Merope and Maia." She counted each of them on her fingers as she recited their names, slowly.

"Maia." Sirius rolled the name over his tongue. "That's a nice name." He whispered, more to himself then Ren, who nodded.

"Yeah, it's cute." She whispered, before starting to fan herself with her hand. "Merlin, it's hot in here don't you think?" Sirius shrugged.

"I'm alright." He whispered. He was indeed at a comfortable temperature, his polo shirt keeping him not too hot, but not too cold. But he could understand how Ren was hot seeing as she was still wearing the large, cream jumper she had been wearing at the tryouts. "Maybe you should take the thick, fluffy jumper off? I reckon that's a contributing factor to your problem."

"Ahh, I like the way you think." Ren whispered with a smirk, before pulling the oversized jumper over her head. Sirius watched as she scrunched the jumper up and shoved it into her bag.

Under the jumper she wore a white, long-sleeved t-shirt that had thin, vertical stripes of navy blue going across it. It fit her well and hugged her chest. Sirius couldn't help his gaze flickering downwards. Even though it was covered, he could still appreciate Ren's chest fully. It was neither too big nor too small, probably around a C cup. A nice size in Sirius' opinion.

Ren was now rifling through the bag in which she had just stuffed the jumper into, and eventually she pulled out a long, unopened packet of biscuits.

"Really? You carry a packet of biscuits around with you?" Sirius asked, unable to prevent himself from smiling in amusement. Ren paused and stared at him.

"Yeah…" She said, bluntly, and Sirius tried not to laugh. "You can't judge me; you carry Firewhiskey around in your saddlebag!" She whispered in an attempt to defend herself, struggling to keep her voice quiet.

Sirius, unable to help himself, let out a rather loud snort of amusement. The two of them froze, waiting to be discovered by Chelsea, but they weren't. They looked at each other before bursting into quiet fits of laughter.

"I suppose you're right." Sirius whispered once they had calmed down. "I can't judge you." Ren grinned at him and Sirius couldn't help but smile back. Her smile was pretty infectious. It lit up her eyes and made her look simply radiant… wait what?

'_For fucks sake, pack it in! You're Sirius Black! You don't call girls beautiful! Stop being an idiot, you don't like her like that, you just want to shag her!_' He scolded himself. What the fuck was happening? Ever since Ren had came along his feelings had been all over the fucking place, and Sirius didn't like it one bit!

"Want a biscuit?" Ren's voice disturbed him from his thoughts with a jolt. When he refocused, Sirius saw that she was holding the, now opened, packet of biscuits out to him.

"Go on then." He said, and leant forward. He plucked a biscuit from the packet and saw that they were chocolate chip cookies. "Nice." He said, smiling.

So there they sat, they're backs against the sofa, eating biscuits and whispering to each other. Occasionally one of them would peek around the loveseat to see whether Chelsea was still there. Eventually Ren's eyelids began to droop from exhaustion. Seeing as she had woken up at about seven o'clock, Sirius wasn't surprised that she was tired. "Pst, Ren? You're not going to fall asleep on me are you?" Sirius whispered, gently.

Ren's eyes opened, slowly, and Sirius could see just how tired she was. "You alright?" He asked. Ren gave a sleepy smile before nodding.

"Uh-huh." She whispered, sounding drowsy. "It's just because I've been sitting still for so long… plus getting up so early probably the best of ideas." She whispered before yawning.

Her eyes slowly slid shut and her head lolled to the side. It suddenly made contact with Sirius' shoulder, startling him slightly. He turned his head and watched as she slowly drifted out of consciousness. Her face relaxed and her lips parted as her breathing began to come out in small, steady puffs.

Sirius spent the next half an hour looking through Ren's sketchbook, with Ren herself sleeping beside him. He knew that she'd probably be annoyed that he had looked through it without her permission, but Sirius hadn't been able to help himself. The corner had just been poking out of her bag, taunting him almost.

Plus Ren looked so peaceful, sleeping soundly with her head on his shoulder, that Sirius hadn't wished to disturb her. Sirius quietly turned the pages of her sketchbook, astounded at the quality of each drawing. His favourite so far was a detailed pencil drawing of the converse she was currently wearing on her feet.

Suddenly Sirius heard the scrape of a chair against the floor from behind him. As gently as possible, so not to disturb the sleeping Ren, Sirius peered around the side of the sofa just in time to see Chelsea and her friend disappearing down the staircase. Sirius let out a long sigh of relief. _'Thank fuck for that.'_ He thought, turning back around. They were finally free to go. Sirius looked down at Ren, who still hadn't stirred.

He found that he didn't have the heart to wake her. He knew how much he hated being disturbed from naps, maybe Ren was the same. After little deliberation, Sirius decided that he would take her back to the Common Room.

Folding the sketchbook close, he placed it back in her bag before standing up and stretching his stiff limbs. Ren's head was now lolling towards her own shoulder as Sirius crouched down beside her, trying to decide upon the best way to carry her without waking her. He eventually came to the conclusion that bridal style would probably be his best bet. Hopefully she was a deep sleeper.

Swinging one of her bag straps over his shoulder, Sirius stooped and carefully picked Ren up. One of his arms supported her back while the other was under her legs. Her head was nuzzled into his chest, and Sirius could feel the steady rise and fall of the side of her chest against his. As he steadied himself, Sirius thought about his actions. Once against this was unusual behaviour for him. If it had been any other girl he probably would have woken them up, or even have just left them there. It was a harsh reality, but a true one.

However here he was, holding a sleeping Ren in his arms, nudging the library door open with his side as gently as possible. It was an odd occurrence to say the least.

Sirius made his way back to the Fat Lady's corridor as quickly as possible, however he slowed his pace whenever Ren stirred, slightly. As he passed other students they would stare at him and the sleeping girl in his arms, in confusion.

Not that Sirius really blamed them. This was weird.

Finally they reached the portrait, and after Sirius uttered the password and managed to climb through the portrait hole, not without difficultly, they had made it back to the Common Room. Only now did Sirius look down at Ren, and he immediately regretted it. She reminded him of that Sleeping Beauty his Uncle Alphard had once told him about when he was young. Just as serene and peaceful, her face relaxed and lips parted, slightly.

He only just managed to look away. Now what was he supposed to do? The girls staircase had that stupid alarm on it (which had been implanted after McGonagall had caught him coming down them after a late night romp with Maria Miller), and looking around, Sirius saw that all the sofa's in the Common Room were taken.

'_Fuck it._' Sirius thought, before marching through the Common Room, ignoring the glances people sent his way, and beginning to climb the staircase leading to his own dormitory.

When he reached the door to his dorm, Sirius paused. Shit. How the fuck was he meant to open the door? He thought for a moment before settling on a practical solution. He steadied himself, and then gave the door an almighty kick. It made more noise than Sirius had originally anticipated, but it did succeed in the door swinging open, revealing a shocked looking Remus sitting on his bed with an open book in his lap.

"Hey." Sirius said, quietly, walking through the doorway sideways, in order hitting Ren's head on the frame of the door.

"Err hey- oh my God, is she okay?!" Remus asked, jumping to his feet.

"Shh, she's just asleep." Sirius explained.

He walked the length of the room and deposited Ren onto his bed. Upon making contact with the soft mattress, Ren stretched in her sleep and let out a quiet moan. It was quite possibly one of Sirius' favourite sounds in the world.

"Where have you two been?" Remus asked in a low voice, joining Sirius at the side of his bed.

"Library." Sirius answered, and when Remus shot him a look of surprise he went on to explain the interesting afternoon.

"You hid from Chelsea? Are you serious?" Remus asked in disbelief once Sirius had finished speaking.

"Yes, I am Sirius. And you're Remus." Sirius said, causing Remus to roll his eyes.

"For fucks sake Sirius, that stopped being funny after the fifteenth time you said it."

"You love it really, and besides, you set yourself up for that one."

Suddenly the door flung open, and James and Peter burst in.

"Afternoon, ladies-"

"SHHHH!" Both Sirius and Remus cut James off, causing the boy to jump in surprise.

"Cheers for the layer of spit-" James began, removing his glasses and wiping them on his shirt. "What the fuck had got into the two of you-" He continued, only to be cut of once again.

"-Will you be quiet?!" Sirius whisper-shouted, before pointing to his bed. When they saw Ren, both Peter and James looked at Sirius and Remus in confusion.

"What's she doing here?" Peter whispered.

"Padfoot, I swear if you've drugged her, I'm going to have to draw the line-"

"-Prongs, I didn't fucking drug her."

"Then what's she doing passed out in your bed?"

"She's not passed out, Wormtail. She's just asleep."

"Guys?" Sirius, James and Peter all turned to Remus.

"What's up Moony?" Peter asked.

"Err, seeing as we're all here, I've been kind of meaning to talk to the three of you about something-"

"-Oh my god, you're pregnant."

"… Erm, no. That's not it, Prongs."

"Oh… well then what's up?" Remus cast a nervous glance in Ren's direction before turning to his friends.

"I'd rather we speak about it in private…"

Five minutes later, the four of them were crammed on Remus' bed with the drapes pulled shut and a silencing charm cast over them.

"Well this is cosy."

"Shut up, Sirius." James said. "So what's up?" He then asked Remus. The sandy haired boy swallowed nervously and looked up to them.

"I want to tell Ren about Moony." He said, boldly."

"What?!" All three of his friends exclaimed in disbelief.

"Look, I know it may seem a little crazy-"

"-A little?!" James interrupted.

"-But she's my friend and I trust her!" Remus argued, before sighing. "I don't expect any of you to _really_ understand this, but hiding my lycanthropy from the three of you was horrible, and it's just as horrible hiding it from Ren.

"When you guys found out I didn't feel as bad about the whole situation as I did before, but now that I'm hiding it from Ren I feel horrible again." When Remus had finished explaining, there was a rather long silence. In all honesty, Sirius understood what Remus meant. Ren was quickly becoming a large part of their lives, and they couldn't hide Remus furry little problem from her forever.

"I agree with Moony." Peter suddenly said. "I think…" the small boy paused. "I think Ren could be okay with it." Sirius grinned at his friend. Good old Peter.

"Yeah, I'm with Peter." Sirius said, and Remus smiled at the two of them before turning to James, who obviously still had doubts.

"Okay." He finally said, "Okay, let's do this-" A soft groan coming from outside the curtains suddenly interrupted the boys, and when the curtains were pulled back, the boys saw Ren was awake, staring back at them.

"Am I interrupting something?" She asked, her voice rather hazy. "Cos' I feel like I'm interrupting something." Sirius saw Remus smile, warmly, at the girl.

"No, no you're not." He said. "…Err, Ren?"

"Yeah?"

"I-erm, I've been meaning- err," Remus paused. "I've got…" He trailed off and turned to his friends for help. Sirius jumped in.

"What he means to say is, how do you feel about werewolves?" He asked the girl, who blinked in surprise at the question.

"Oh, err… I mean, fine really. They're still human beings, just minus every full moon. I-I don't know really, I've never really thought about it before." Her confusion was obvious. "W-why?" She asked.

Remus suddenly found his voice and turned back to her, looking her right in the eyes.

"I-" He sighed. "I'm a werewolf."

**Ohhh! A cliffhanger! That's new.**  
**I actually quite like this chapter:3 Do you? REVIEW PLEASE TELLING ME WHAT YOU THINK!**

**Evie x  
**

**P.S. Maia is pronounced My-aa... Just thought I'd clear that up :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey everyone, I hope the wait hasn't been too long. However I have my last exam tomorrow so then I will have all the time in the world to write (yaaay!) Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, favourited and I hope you like the chapter:)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but OC's and plot**

Perfectly Content  
_Chapter 15_

Ren sat on Sirius' bed with four sets of eyes trained on her. She was trying to work out whether this was some sort of practical joke.

"What?" She found herself unable to say anything else.

"I'm a werewolf." Remus repeated, his voice quieter this time. Ren remained frozen on the bed. She hadn't seen this coming.

"Oh… I- I had no idea. You- you hide it well." She had no idea what else to say, she felt nervous having the four boys scrutinizing her. Remus gave her the smallest of smiles.

"Yeah… I've had a lot of practise." He said. Ren suddenly smiled at him. He was obviously terrified, which Ren thought was perfectly understandable. She swallowed and looked him in the eye.

"How long, erm, have you… been a werewolf? She asked him, trying to remain as calm as possible. It wasn't that she was scared of him, she just wanted to approach this the right way.

"Since I was seven."

Strangely, this relaxed Ren. Anyone else would have probably been terrified, but the fact was that Remus had been a werewolf long before meeting her, and he was still the same person she had befriended and bedded. Him being a werewolf shouldn't change anything, and it didn't make her want to stop being his friend, nor call off their Friends with Benefits relationship. After all, how many people at Hogwarts could say they had slept with a werewolf?

"Oh, well… that's cool. I mean, everyone has their secrets, right?" Ren said, becoming calmer when she saw the boys visibly relax at her words. "For example, I couldn't pronounce my R's until I was six. I went to speech classes and everything." Okay, maybe that was better left unsaid.

"What?! Both James and Sirius asked, obviously taken aback by Ren's confession.

"Yeah… I introduced myself as 'Wen'." She told them, causing each of the boys to burst out laughing.

"I think," Remus began after calming down, slightly. "I think my, as James puts it, 'furry little problem' is a different kind of secret all together than your old speech habits." He said, and Ren grinned at him.

"Yeah, probably." She said. "Thank you for telling me, by the way. I promise I won't tell anyone." Remus let out a relieved smile.

"Thanks." He said. "I just didn't want to keep it from you any longer." Ren was flattered. The fact that Remus trusted her and cared for her enough to entrust her with such a deep secret made Ren's heart swell.

"Well, seeing as we're all doing confessions-" Sirius began, only to be interrupted by James.

"Yeah, we know Padfoot. You're a nymphomaniac."

"What?!" Sirius sputtered. "No, that's not what I was going to say! And anyway, I thought nymphomaniacs were woman-"

"Fine, an alcoholic then." Peter corrected.

"No!" Sirius argued. "What I was going to say was that James, Pete and I are Animagi!"

"What?!" Ren, James, Peter and Remus all exclaimed at Sirius' confession.

"Padfoot!"

"Why did you say that?!"

"We all swore we wouldn't tell!"

The boys' protest towards Sirius all went over Ren's head. To find out that your friend was a werewolf was a shock to the system on its own, but then to find out that your three other friends were all Animagi as well was just too much!

"I just figured that seeing as we can trust Ren with Moony's secret, we could trust her with ours!" Sirius was explaining to the boys, and after thinking about it for a few moments, the boys eventually seemed to fall into agreement with Sirius.

"Okay, I'm still a little confused." Ren said in a daze, rubbing her temple. The four boys all turned to her and James, now seemingly fine with Sirius' outing, took it upon himself to explain.

"Well, when we found out about Moony the three of us decided to become Animagi so we could keep him company on full moons. So now we all go down to the Shrieking Shack once a month and keep an eye on him." He said, quickly, and when he finished he let out a breath before shrugging, nonchalantly.

Ren sat there, shocked. Had she heard him correctly?

"What?" She asked, bewilderment evident in her voice. James sighed and was about to repeat himself when Remus interrupted him.

"My transformations are extremely painful. Before Peter, James and Sirius found out and I spent the full moons alone I would bite and scratch myself because there were no humans around. They found out in our second year, and I was terrified that they wouldn't want to be friends with me anymore, just like I was with you. But they didn't leave me. They decided to become Animagi in order to keep me company, seeing as werewolves are only dangerous to humans."

As Remus spoke, Ren's heart began to ache for her friend. He had truly been through more than she could ever imagine at such a young age. And yet he had three friends who had decided to help him by doing something that wasn't only extremely difficult, but also illegal. "Under their influence I become tamer." Remus went on to say. "My body's still a wolf but my mind becomes less so." Ren nodded in understanding.

"How long did it take you? To become Animagi, I mean?" She asked, quietly.

"Three years." Sirius answered from where he was leaning against the bed post. "We finally managed it in our fifth year." Ren let out a long, shaky breath.

"Bloody hell." She murmured.

"Are you okay?" Remus asked, rising from the bed and moving over to her.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. It's just a lot of information to take in within the space of five minutes." Ren answered, rubbing her temples. "And no one else knows, I take it?"

"Dumbledore knows. And Madame Pomfrey." Remus said. "But not about these three." He added, indicating to his friends.

"And Snape knows." Peter added, and Ren's eyes widened in shock. She had encountered Severus Snape a number of times since arriving at Hogwarts, and he wasn't the most pleasant of characters to say the least.

"Snape? How does Snape know?" She asked, incredulously.

"Prank gone wrong." James said.

"Slimy git." Sirius muttered under his breath. Ren sensed that this wasn't a subject that they wished to discuss, so she instead decided to ask some questions that had began to form in her mind.

"So… what animals do the three of you turn into?" She asked, slowly. Sirius looked at the others quickly, nodded at them and then suddenly disappeared, a large black dog appearing in his place.

Ren yelped in surprise when the dog bounded forward and leapt onto the bed that she was sitting on. The canine, clad in a coat as dark as Sirius' hair, was lean and agile. He was rather eager as he pawed at Ren, pushing her onto her back easily, much like an excitable child that wanted attention from its parents.

Ren squealed, slightly, as the dogs large, black snout descended upon her, the wet nose tickled her ear and Ren couldn't help but laugh as she tried to push him off of her. "Sirius! Sirius, get off- Shit God damn!"

While being mauled by Sirius, Ren hadn't notice James transform, so when she rolled over and laid eyes on the large, majestic stag standing next to the bed, she almost jumped out of her skin. Sirius eased up and Ren was able to push him off her, not drawing her gaze from the stag as she sat up. "Wow." She breathed, tentatively reaching forward and stroking James' muzzle.

Sirius let out a whine when he realised that he was being upstaged by James, and placed a paw on Ren's leg, effectively propelling himself forward and delivering a sloppy, wet lick to Ren's cheek. "UGH!" Ren pushed the dog off her and wiped her cheek with the back of her hand.

"Yeah, he does that." Ren heard Remus say as she dried her cheek.

"Sirius that's disgusting!" Ren exclaimed. The dog merely sat there, staring at her with big, dopey eyes, his tounge hanging out while his tail thumped against the mattress. Remus let out a light chuckle.

"Even as a dog he still had to have all the attention." He said, causing the dog to turn his head abruptly and let out a loud bark at Remus. "Shhh! Someone could hear you." Ren smiled before returning his attention back to James. The stag let out a gentle snort and lowered his head, allowing Ren to reach out and stroke the soft fur by his ears. This was truly surreal.

"Wait, where did Peter go?" Ren asked when she had turned to Remus and saw that Peter was no longer standing beside him.

Before Remus could respond, however, a soft scuffling sounded from beside the bed. Ren peered over the edge and saw a large, brown rat sat on floor staring up at her, his nose twitching. Ren chuckled, softly. "Aww." She mused aloud. As gently as possible, Ren reached over and scooped the rat up and placed him on the soft mattress before turning back to Remus. "This is fucking crazy." She said, causing Remus to laugh.

"You say that as if I didn't know it already." He said as James reappeared.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean." He said while the rat jumped off the bed and transformed back into Peter.

"Yeah, it's almost as if you think we're reckless and excitable." He said.

"Which couldn't be further from the truth." James added. Only Sirius remained as an animal. The large dog lay down beside Ren and rested his head on her knee. Ren smiled down at the dog and placed her hand on his scruffy head. "He's taken to you." James sniggered.

"Just call me The Dog Whisperer." Ren smirked at him.

"Yeah, I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that you're an attractive girl who hasn't fallen for his charms and landed in his bed." James said, causing the boys to laugh as Ren shrugged her shoulders.

"And I plan to keep in that way." She said.

"Y'know, I'm offended that you all seem to think I would advantage of Miss Gallagher in such a way."

Ren looked down and was met with Sirius' grey eyes twinkling up at her, his head still resting on her thigh. "Can I simply not enjoy her company at a friend?" He mused, his voice laced with mischief.

"Well we all know how you'd like to enjoy Ren's company." Peter said, and Sirius shrugged, innocently.

"I'm not saying that that possibility is completely ruled out."

"Well I am." Ren interrupted. "I have no desire to sleep with you, Sirius."

And it was true. Despite his reputation, which Ren had heard more about during her first week at Hogwarts than she would have liked, Ren really did have no interest in sleeping with him. Especially since she had her 'Um-Friends' relationship with Remus to keep her sated.

"Your words wound me, sweet maiden." Sirius mocked, placing his hand over his heart.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Fonzy." Ren said.

"Have no fear, you will eventually fall for my charms and come over to the dark side… or should I say Black side?" Sirius said, and Ren smiled.

"You keep telling yourself that." She said. "What time is it, by the way?" She went on to ask as Sirius sat up, running his fingers through his hair in an attempt to smooth out his slightly mussed up locks.

"Err," Remus began, glancing at a small clock on his nightstand. "Six o'clock."

"So dinner's about to start? Step aside ladies, I'm starving!" Ren said, hauling herself off the bed. The boys all followed suit, readying themselves to go downstairs.

"Uh, Ren?"

Ren turned to see Remus watching her intently. "You won't tell anyone about any of this, will you?" The tall boy asked, nervously. The three other boys all stilled at Remus' question, awaiting Ren's answer with bated breath. She took a step towards Remus.

"I'll take it to my grave, Remus." She said, gently. "All of it." She added, glancing around to the others before enveloping Remus in a soft hug. There was a collective sigh of relief from the boys as Remus wrapped his arms around Ren.

"Thank you." He whispered into her hair, and Ren only tightened her grip around him.

"Do you really mean that? Or do we have to make you take an Unbreakable Vow?" Sirius asked from behind Remus, but Ren saw his eyes twinkling, mischievously. Remus, however, didn't. He abruptly released Ren and spun around to face his three friends, who were all grinning at him.

"No Unbreakable Vows! We've been through this, Sirius." He said, and Sirius let out an exaggerated sigh.

"Fine." He huffed.

"Come on, let's go down to dinner. I could eat a Hippogriff." James said.

"I wouldn't put it past you." Peter mumbled.

Ten minutes later, the five teenagers were sat in the Great Hall, each with a plate full of Shepherds Pie before them. As the spoke, laughed and joked, Ren felt that since confessing their secrets to her in the dorm, an unspoken agreement of sorts had emerged from the boys. She felt closer to each of them, like they had officially accepted her into the group, despite them only confessing to her little under an hour ago.

James was beginning to speak of more serious issues that just the Quidditch League in front of her. Peter was speaking more in general and would often make jokes with her. Sirius, although still being an outrageous flirt, was beginning to speak to her as if she was one of the boys, and Remus was more or less the same, but was becoming more daring when it came to their relationship as 'Um-Friends'.

For example, when the five of them had been making their way through the corridors of Hogwarts towards the Great Hall, Remus had placed his arms around her waist. Ren had thought this wouldn't raise much suspicion amongst the others so she hadn't worried herself over the public display of affection.

But when Remus had slowed his pace so that they were behind the others and then slid his hand over her arse and given it a possessive squeeze followed by a light smack, Ren had been pleasantly surprised by his actions. When she had turned to him in silent questioning, Remus had simply smirked down at her before dropping her waist and moving to walk with James.

But now as she sat opposite James, Sirius and Peter with Remus on her right, his hand placed firmly on her thigh, out of view under the table, Ren began to ponder what Remus being a werewolf meant for their unusual relationship.

Having studied werewolf behaviour during her fourth year at Durmstrang, Ren had learnt enough about their characteristics and traits to give her a general understanding of them.

The more she thought about it, the more Ren realised how werewolf like Remus actually was. He had the stereotypical amber eyes, the splattering of scars over his body, and the weakness for a good chocolate bar. While the last bit may not have been a completely accurate fact, Ren remembered reading somewhere that a werewolf would develop an attachment to a certain food, so it looked like Remus' weakness was chocolate.

Ren had also read somewhere that in the run up to the full moon, a werewolf's libido would increase generously, and, although never thinking she would be able to, Ren could confirm that fact as one hundred percent true.

"Hey everyone." Said the sudden voice of Lily, causing Ren to sit up a little straighter as she separated from her… impure thoughts.

"Well good evening, Lily." James said, smiling brightly up at her, his eyes glimmering with a hopeful desire, "What brings you over to us ruffians?"

"Who are you calling ruffian?" Protested Sirius, his brow furrowed. Lily smiled, slightly, before speaking again.

"Well, the other girls all wanted to stay in the library, so I was wondering if it would be okay with you guys if I sat here?" She asked, her pale cheeks tainted slightly pink.

Ren glanced around the boys and saw the all gaping at the redhead in disbelief. Not that Ren was surprised. From what she could gather, Lily had never requested to sit with James, Sirius, Remus and Peter in her entire life, so this was indeed a shock to the system. They were still getting used to her presence at breakfast along with Marley, Cassie, Emmeline and Alice.

"Y-yeah, yeah of course you can." James eventually stuttered out. Lily smiled and took a seat next to Ren. James managed to smile back before turning to Sirius, who shrugged at his friend.

"Congratulations on making the team today, by the way Ren." Lily said as she tucked into her food.

"What?-" Ren stammered as Remus' hand slowly began to travel up her leg. "-Oh yeah, thanks."

God, had the tryouts only been that morning? They seemed like an age ago, so much had happened since then. She had been to the art rooms, got trapped in the library with Sirius, woken up in his dorm, entrusted with Remus' deepest secret, and found out that her friends were Animagi.

It was safe to safe that her Quidditch victory had been the last thing on her mind.

As dinner progressed, the boys still weren't able to digest the fact that Lily Evans was willingly sitting with them and chatting pleasantly. All except James that was. If he was at all shocked by Lily's appearance, he didn't show it. He simply continued to act normally around her… well, normal for James' standards.

"So Lily, you're looking rather beautiful today. Green really is your colour." The bespectacled boy said. And it was true; Lily did look particularly pretty that evening. She wore a sheer shirt in a luscious shade of jade green over a black vest top, with a simple pair of jeans and black ballet pumps. Her hair had been pulled back into a half up-half down style. Ren couldn't help but admire Lily's simplistic style.

"Your flattery will get you no where, Potter." Lily retaliated, but Ren noticed a faint flush rise on Lily's pale cheeks.

"Oh I beg to differ. I will get that date in Hogsmeade one day!" James argued back, playfully. Lily scoffed, ever so slightly.

"I wouldn't hold your breath." Sirius murmured before taking a swig of pumpkin juice.

The meal continued fairly normally from then on, although Ren did keep an eye on Lily. Even though the redhead wasn't making a conscious effort to interact with James, she was by no means ignoring the boy completely, and compared to the treatment Ren had heard that Lily usual bestowed upon the boy, along with her behaviour earlier that week, Lily may as well have had a complete switch in personality.

When the group had finished their meals, they decided to make their way back to the Common Room, where they spent the rest of the evening telling stories at each others expenses in loud, rowdy voices. Even Lily let her hair down after an hour or so of sitting around the fire, her posture visibly relaxing.

By nine o'clock, both Lily and Ren decided to head up to their dormitory, despite the protests that came from the boys. When they eventually made it up to their dorm, both girls let out an exhausted sigh. The room was empty beside them, and Ren guessed that Marley, Cassie, Emmeline and Alice were making the most of the ten o'clock curfew that seventh years were granted on Saturdays.

"Bloody hell, they're hard work." Lily was saying as she fished through her drawers for a clean set of pyjamas. Ren, who had kicked off her shoes and collapsed onto her bed, face first, let out a little huff of laughter before rolling onto her side to watch the redhead.

"Yeah, you're telling me… But you seemed to enjoy yourself." Ren said. Lily had walked back to her bed and was placing her pyjamas on the soft mattress. She shrugged, slightly, at Ren's words.

"I'll admit they're not as arrogant and big headed as they once were." She confessed, and Ren raised an eyebrow, sceptically.

"Even James?" Lily opened her mouth to speak, but ended up pausing. She just nodded in response and Ren gaped. "Woah, hold on," She sat up, abruptly. "According to Marley, last year you called him the most rude, egotistical, ignorant, conceited-"

"-I didn't say conceited."

"-Supercilious arsehole that you had ever had the misfortune of meeting, and that you hoped that they invented head reduction surgery because he needed it desperately." When Ren had finished quoting Marlene the two girls stared at each other momentarily.

"Okay… admittedly, that wasn't one of my finer moments." Lily said, eventually. Ren couldn't help smiling at her friend.

"I'm not saying what you said was un-justifiable. I've only known him since the summer and even though he's a lovely guy and I love him to bits, he can be a bit of a knob. Especially when he's with Sirius." Ren said, and Lily smiled.

"Yeah, well the Dynamic Duo have always had a habit of getting under my skin." She said. "It's just…" Lily trailed off. Ren could see that she was trying to think of the best way to phrase her next sentence. "Well, we had Head Boy and Girl rounds on Wednesday night until ten o'clock, just to make sure everyone was in after curfew, you know,"

Lily paused and pulled out the bobble that had separated a portion of her hair from the rest, letting the deep red locks fall to join the rest of her hair. "And I was dreading it at first. Having to spend an hour with Potter by myself was hardly my idea of fun. But it turned out… okay." Ren watched as Lily ran a brush through her hair, slowly. "There was none of that obnoxious flirting, and he didn't even ask me to go to Hogsmeade with him once. He was just… him, y'know?"

Ren nodded. She had experienced more of James' true self that day after the Animagi confession, and although she found nothing wrong with James' usual jokey and fun-filled demeanour, it was nice to see some of his more relaxed being shine through.

"So… are you starting to… y'know, like him?" Ren asked, trying to keep the question casual. She knew that if she approached the subject the wrong way, Lily would bolt like a startled deer.

"What?! No!" Lily started, a little too defensively for Ren to believe her. "I mean, he's still Potter! He's still stupidly arrogant and annoying and handsome- Oh!" Lily's hands shot up to cover her mouth at her slip, as if she had uttered the most vulgar series of curse words known to man, her eyes wide with surprise.

Ren said nothing, but her eyebrows shot up in shock. She hadn't actually expected Lily to admit anything. "I… Okay, fine! I don't hate him _as _much as before, but you can't tell anyone that! Especially not him, because Merlin knows it would inflate his ego even more! Lily pleaded, scurrying over to Ren and clutching her hands. "Please don't tell anyone."

Ren smiled, warmly, at her friend.

"It'll be our little secret. I swear." She promised the girl, who let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you." She said, pulling Ren into a grateful hug.

It seemed that Ren had a number of secrets she would have to keep while at Hogwarts.

**Sorry it's kinda short:S The next one will be longer, I promise :)  
****Leave me a review, pretty please? I'll love you forever:3**

**Evie x**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hope the wait hasn't been too long. Thanks to those who reviewed, followed and favourited and I'm sorry for any mistakes :)**

**Disclaimer: I own sweet fuck all... besides Ren**

Perfectly Content  
_Chapter 16_

"I still can't believe that she sat with us! I just… I…" James trailed off as he and Sirius neared the kitchens, the same whimsical expression had been set on his thin face ever since the two girls had disappeared up to their dormitory.

Sirius couldn't help but grin at his friend's slightly giddy behaviour. For fifteen minutes after Ren and Lily's departure, the Marauders had sat around the fire as James had expressed his joy about Lily willingly spending the evening with them.

However Sirius had noticed that, although initially being happy for James, Remus seemed to be becoming more and more irritated by James' ranting. But Sirius knew that the werewolf couldn't be blamed for his short temper. The full moon was drawing closer and one of the effects that it had on Remus, was a change in his general disposition. It may not have been a full time thing, but there were times when Remus' temperament was a little more hostile then usual. Sirius had sensed that Remus' nerves may have been running short when he saw the werewolf's grip on his chairs armrests tighten.

Sirius had quickly decided that it would be best for him to take James away from Remus before an outburst occurred, and had offered to go down to the kitchens in order to collect some food before curfew ended. He had then enlisted James for help and the two of them had set off shortly after, but not before Remus had shot Sirius a grateful glance. "I reckon if she spends some more time with us I could manage to persuade her to go to Hogsmeade with me." James was now saying as they crossed the Entrance Hall and neared the staircase that led them to the basements.

"Yeah maybe, she seemed to enjoy herself tonight." Sirius said.

"Maybe I could ask Ren to put in a good word for me. The two of them seem to be getting really close." Sirius nodded, admiring his friend's persistence when it came to persuading Lily to go on a date with him.

Sirius had never really been on a proper date with a girl. Sure, he had occasionally met up with girls in Hogsmeade over his years at Hogwarts, but those occasions had always been with the intention to sleep with them by the end of the day. As far as Sirius knew, you went on a date with someone because you fancied them and maybe wanted to be in a relationship with them, not just because you wanted to get into their knickers.

However Sirius didn't really concern himself with purpose of real dates seeing as had no interest in them. Besides, he had never really met anyone who he would wish to take to Hogsmeade and do whatever it was you did on dates. Well… there was one girl. The same girl James was planning on inducting into his master plan to win Lily's heart. But the very idea of asking Ren to go on a date with him was ridiculous! Absolutely ridiculous! As was the idea of her accepting his offer.

Sirius let out a small, frustrated sigh as James rambled on. These stupid, unknown feelings that were starting to develop for Ren were really getting out of hand. He didn't like her like that! Why did he need to keep reminding himself of that? And it wasn't just Ren he didn't have feelings for, it was any girl! He was Sirius Black, for Merlin's sake! Sirius Black didn't like girls in the platonic sense, he just liked to fuck them and be on his merry way!

Yeah, that's what he needed; a good fuck. The last time he had had sex had been with Bertha in the summer holidays. For Sirius, that amount of time without a satisfying shag was considered a dry spell.

Finally the two boys arrived at the fruit bowl portrait and Sirius reached forward and began to tickle the green pear. The pear let out a shrill giggle before transforming into a large, green doorknob. Sirius gave the handle a great tug and the portrait swung open. "Am I over-thinking this though, mate?" James asked as they entered the large, gleaming kitchen. "Cos' I know I've been talking about it quite a lot, but I really feel-"

James stopped abruptly when he and Sirius rounded a corner and nearly walked head first into someone.

There, wrapped up in a fluffy, white dressing gown, stood Doctor Jenkinson. She held a cup of tea in one hand and a plate with a small chocolate cake perched atop of it in the other. The two boys stared silently at her, and she stared back. After a full minute of awkward silence, the Doctor slowly opened her mouth and spoke.

"I won't tell if you won't." She said, and when the boys nodded in confirmation, she side-stepped them hurried out of the kitchen, slippers scuffing against the stone floor as she went. James and Sirius both turned to each other in disbelief.

"Well that was weird." Sirius eventually said, and James nodded in agreement. "But fuck me, she is hot." Sirius added as a group of house elves scurried towards.

After being stocked up with vast quantities of pumpkin pasties, cauldron cakes, chocolate éclairs and cream cakes, the boys were ready to go. James swung the bag full of treats (they had learnt after their first visit to the kitchens that they would never be able to carry all of their goodies by hand) onto his back, and the two of them began to make their way back to Gryffindor Tower.

Just as they had reached the top of the marble staircase, a voice sounded from behind them.

"Sirius!"

The two boys came to an abrupt halt and Sirius let out an irked sigh.

"Merlin, give me strength." He murmured to himself before slowly turning around, praying that it wasn't who he thought it was calling him. But it was. Of course it was. Chelsea Bradshaw was hurrying up the stairs towards them.

"You're on your own, mate." James suddenly said, and Sirius turned just in time to see his friend speeding off down the corridor. That bastard.

When Chelsea reached Sirius, she gave him a breathless smile. As much as it pained him to admit, Sirius couldn't deny that she looked pretty as she smoothed out the simple dark purple dress that fell to just above her knee. She wore it with plain, black tights and black ballet pumps that had little bows on them.

"Hey." She grinned up at him.

"Hey." He said back. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. But I haven't seen much of you today, what have you been doing?" Chelsea asked, taking a step forward.

"I had the tryouts this morning, but I didn't do much after that, though." Sirius replied. He neglected to mention that he had spent a fair amount of time hiding from her in the library.

"Oh, cool." Chelsea said. "Listen, I was wondering if you'd like to come back to my dorm for a bit, so we could… you know." She went on to murmur, taking another step forward.

Sirius knew he shouldn't. He knew that it was wrong for him to go back to her dorm and do whatever it was that 'you know' entitled. For the first ever his brain was telling him that he shouldn't lead this girl on when he had no real interest in her… but his cock was telling him something completely different.

Ten minutes later, the door to Chelsea's dormitory was flung open and Sirius and Chelsea stumbled through it, lips locked together, muffling Chelsea's slight moans. In the brief moment that Sirius pulled away in order to pull his t-shirt over his head, he noticed that the dormitory, that he vaguely recognized (which confirmed that he had indeed slept with Chelsea before), was empty aside from them. Good. He was in no mood to be quiet.

Chelsea was now reaching behind her and yanking down the zip of her dress. When the dress was loose, Sirius helped her tug it from her body before pulling her tights down, leaving her only in her lacy pink underwear. Sirius practically threw the blonde onto the bed he obscurely remembered from his previous visit, causing Chelsea to let out a high-pitched giggled as Sirius joined her on the bed.

He bent his head to kiss her once more, straddling her thighs in order to ensure that he was in full control. Sirius very rarely found himself being dominated throughout his sexual escapades. Many girls seemed unable to muster the courage to seize control from the infamous Sirius Black.

As he caressed and squeezed her small, perky breasts, still clad in her bra, Chelsea let out a wanton moan, and when Sirius dipped down and sucked on the tender flesh of her neck she hissed his name in pleasure. Sirius pulled away to hurriedly undo his belt buckle and the zip of his trousers, proceeding to shrug them half way down his legs, not even bothering to remove them fully, before pulling aside her knickers and entering Chelsea in one swift, sharp movement.

She let out a loud cry as Sirius let out a rough, low moan. Chelsea continued to moan as Sirius thrusted into her, harder and harder, pushing her slim body into the soft mattress. He kept his face buried in the crook of her neck, inhaling her vibrant, flowery scent while trying to imagine a sweet, vanilla aroma in its place…

He groped her breasts, driving into her with fast, heavy movements, causing the wooden bed to rock under the force of his thrusts. Soon Chelsea's walls were contracting around him, and she was practically screaming in pleasure. Sirius grunted as he delivered his final thrusts before finding his own finish. He didn't roll off her for a minute or so, his head remaining in the crook of her neck as he caught his breath, and when he did move to lie next to her, despite her exhausted state, Chelsea managed to find the breath to speak.

"You're still going to take me to Hogsmeade next weekend, right?" She asked, panting as she did so.

"Yeah, sure." Sirius managed to respond.

"Good." Chelsea said. Having taken all of his sexual frustration out on Chelsea, he was well and truly spent. Whether he took her to Hogsmeade next weekend was the last thing on his mind at that moment. His main priority was now getting back to his own dormitory.

"Listen, I've got to get back." Sirius said after he had fully recovered and caught his breath. He slowly sat up and turned to Chelsea. The blonde pouted, slightly, in response.

"You could always stay here for the night." She suggested, hopefully.

No thank you. The only time Sirius had woken up next to a woman in the morning was that time in the summer with Ren, and he wasn't very keen to repeat that moment of weakness. It was just one of Sirius' rules. He never fell asleep with women.

"Sorry, I can't. James wanted to talk to me about something." He lied, quickly. Chelsea's thin brows furrowed.

"What could he possibly want to talk about at this time of night?" She asked, and Sirius shrugged.

"I don't know, probably a new scheme to win Lily's heart." He said.

"Couldn't it wait until morning?"

"I'm afraid not, love. He's dead set on winning her over." Chelsea slumped into her pillows, slightly.

"Oh, well good luck to him." She said, and Sirius saw this as the go ahead for him to leave. After pulling up his trousers and locating his shirt, Sirius said his goodbyes to Chelsea, a deep kiss to quench her disappointment, and went on his way.

Sirius managed to make it back to Gryffindor Tower undetected, making use of the secret passages that the Marauders had discovered throughout their years at Hogwarts.

When he entered his dormitory Sirius saw that only James was left awake, or at least he assumed that was the only one awake seeing as both Remus and Peter's bed curtains were pulled closed and no noise was coming from them. James himself was sat up in his bed, concentrating on a piece of parchment that lay on his lap. He had a quill in one hand and would every so often add something to the parchment. The room was lit by a single oil lamp on James' bedside table, and the dim glow of the room reminded Sirius of just how tiered he actually was. It had been a long day.

When James looked up and saw Sirius, he gave him a sheepish grin and placed the quill down on the bed.

"So how was it?" He asked, casually, knowing exactly what Sirius had been up to.

"Rushed." Was Sirius' reply.

"And?"

"Needed." James grinned at his friend before picking up the parchment and studying it.

"Okay, so while you were busy feeding your sexual appetite, I've been just as busy creating a five point plan on how to convince Lily to go to Hogsmeade with me." James said. Sirius, who had just removed his t-shirt and was in the process of folding it in half, paused and turned to his friend.

"You've written down a plan?" He asked, incredulously, and James nodded.

"Yep. It's called 'Convince Lily I'm Truly Stupendous' or C.L.I.T.S for short." Sirius couldn't help snorting and letting out a bark of laughter. You could say what you like about James, but you certainly couldn't deny his creativity.

"C.L.I.T.S? Very impressive." Sirius mused with a grin as he removed his trousers before pulling on a pair of old pyjama bottoms, but neglecting to couple it with a top, and climbing into his bed.

"Yeah, I thought you'd like it." James said. Sirius chuckled as he propped his pillows up against the beds headboard and lent against them. As he reclined into them, a faint whiff of vanilla could be smelt coming from them, and Sirius froze as he recognized Ren's scent. The aroma must have lingered since she had been on his bed earlier that day. Sirius inhaled once more before turning to James and training his eyes on him.

"So enlighten me, what does this five point plain consist of?" He asked his friend.

"Well, Operation 'Convince Lily I'm Truly Stupendous' or Operation C.L.I.T.S, as we shall call it for short, is the official fool-proof plan on how to get Lily to go on a date with me, and it reads thusly;

"Step one; persuade Ren to become a part of Operation C.L.I.T.S.

"Step two; get Ren to slip me into as many conversations with Lily as possible, highlighting all of my good points-"

"-She'll struggle there then."

"Fuck off, Padfoot. Anyway- Step three; in the upcoming week, do as many things as possible that make me look good in Lily's eyes.

"Step four; on Friday night, make sure Lily is in the Common Room waiting for Ren, who will conveniently be running late, and ask her in the most sincere way possible if she will go to Hogsmeade with me.

"And step five; make her fall in love with me when I take her on the most amazing date of her entire life." James paused and looked up at his friend. "So, what do you think?"

"I'm still waiting for the point where you deflate your head to a reasonable size." Came Remus' voice from behind his bed curtains. Sirius laughed as James told the werewolf where he could stick that point.

"It's a different approach, I'll give you that." Sirius said to James. "But this is Evans we're talking about. Do you really think she'll be so easily swayed?"

"How can she not?" James asked. "This stuff is gold!" He said, motioning to the parchment.

"I bet five galleons that it won't work." Sirius grinned.

"I bet ten." Sounded Peter's muffled voice, and Sirius let out a bark of laughter.

"Yeah well you laugh now," James began, pointing at Sirius in mock warning. "But when Lily falls desperately in love with me and it's all thanks to C.L.I.T.S, I'll be the one laughing!"

* * *

The Hogwarts Hospital Wing was a room which Remus had visited many times over his years at the school.

The large room consisted of ten beds, five on either side of the rooms, all with rather hard mattresses draped in a thin white cover. Between each bed was a small wooden nightstand, and above each nightstand was a tall window. White curtains hung from the windows and they would flutter, lightly, in the breeze if a window had been opened.

In general, the wing wasn't that bad. It was certainly more pleasant than St Mungo's, but even still, whenever he visited the Hospital Wing each month it still managed to throw a bucket of icy water over Remus' spirits.

It was the day after the full moon and Remus was lying alone in the Infirmary, lying in one of the stiff beds. He had his pillows propped up against the steel headboard and he was leaning against them, feeling quite restless having spent the day in the very same bed. Madame Pomfrey thought it best so he could regain his strength.

A week had passed since he had confessed to Ren that he was a werewolf, and so much had happened since then, the most notable being that James had _actually_ managed to persuade Lily to go on a date with him. It turned out Operation C.L.I.T.S was more of a success than anyone had anticipated it to be, so much so that James was now fifteen Galleons richer.

Operation C.L.I.T.S had commenced on the Sunday morning after its creation, when James had cornered Ren and convinced her to become part of his plan. She had agreed rather quickly, and had later confided in Remus and told him that Lily was actually beginning to tolerate James. She had then made Remus swear that he wouldn't tell anyone, doing puppy dog eyes and pouting her lips until he had promised, and then she had proceeded to use her pouty lips elsewhere, much to Remus' and his inner wolfs pleasure…

The next morning at breakfast, James had presented Lily with a single white lily flower, which had caused a pink blush to creep over Lily's cheeks. James had then continued to present Lily with a lily every morning of that week. By Friday Lily had quite the sufficient bunch of flowers, and according to Ren, she had placed all of them in a large glass on her bedside table.

Throughout the week Ren had also successfully slipped James into as many conversations with Lily as possible, and she had noted that whenever she had done this, that familiar blush had appeared on the redheads cheeks.

On Friday night, Lily had been waiting for Ren in the Common Room, who had 'coincidently' been running late, when James had approached her, got down on one knee and said "Lily Evans, will you please do me the honour of going to Hogsmeade with me tomorrow?"

Lily, who had at first protested with "Potter, what in the name of Merlin are you doing?!" when James had knelt before her, had fallen silent at James' question. She had then blushed and eventually murmured "Okay".

So the next morning the two of them had met up in the Entrance Hall, Lily looking rather nervous, and set off for a small Hogsmeade café called The Essence of Flutterby. Remus had decided not to go to Hogsmeade that day after being advised against it by Madame Pomfrey in order to save energy for the full moon that night, but he had went along to the Entrance Hall to see his friends off.

Sirius, who had been roped into taking Chelsea to the village, had stood with Remus at the door and watched as Peter, Ren, Cassie, Marlene, Alice, Emmeline and Emmeline's boyfriend, Benjy, made their way to the school gates. They had all been eager to show Ren the very finest that Hogsmeade had to offer, and Remus had felt a stab of regret at not being able to accompany Ren on her visit to the charming little village. Sirius had obviously wanted to spend the day with his friends, but he had known that there was no escaping Chelsea.

Remus smiled as he remembered how his fellow Marauders had not only spent last night with him, but most of today as well. The three boys had all sat in chairs around his bed, recounting their trips to Hogsmeade. From the sound of it, James had defiantly had the best time, while Sirius had had the worst, not that Chelsea would have noticed. They had only left around two hours ago when Madame Pomfrey had came and showed them out, claiming that Remus needed to rest.

Remus was jolted from his thoughts when the soft sound of heels clicking against the stone floor caused him to look up, and he smiled when he saw Ren entering the room as quietly as she could. She met his eyes and flashed him a smile before gently closing the door and walking over to his bed.

"Hey." She said as she neared him.

She was wearing a red, buttoned up checkered top with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, tucked loosely into a pair of tight, dark grey jeans. On her feet were a pair of black ankle boots and her hair had been pulled up into a messy bun that was held in place by a dark blue bandana. She was holding a deep purple paper bag in one of her hands.

"Hey." Remus said back. "Your hair looks nice." Ren smiled at his compliment and sat down on the chair that had been previously occupied by Sirius.

"Thanks," She said. "Lily did it when she was telling me about her date with James."

"Ahh, James was telling me all about it earlier. Did Lily enjoy herself? Because James certainly did." Ren chuckled.

"Much to her surprise, yeah she did." She said. "Oh, I brought you something." She picked up the purple bag that had been placed at her feet and held it out for him. Remus smiled when he saw the white Honeydukes logo stamped on the front of it. He curiously peered into the bag and pulled out the present. In his hand, Remus now held a Honeydukes Deluxe Chocolate Tray. It contained all of Honeydukes' finest chocolate goodies, including Chocolate Frogs, Chocoballs, Chocolate Wands and Remus' favourite Honeydukes milk chocolate.

Remus grinned at Ren before leaning forward and pulling her into a hug.

"Thanks, Ren." He said as he hugged her. "I really appreciate it." She chuckled, slightly, as she hugged him back.

"It's nothing, really. I just wanted to get you something to make you feel better." She said as they released each other. Remus smiled and looked down at the present. Ren was truly one of the most considerate people he had ever met. These Deluxe Trays weren't exactly cheap, and Remus was hardly ever able to afford them himself. He would have been happy with a single Chocolate Frog, let alone twenty of them as well as other goodies. "So you like it then? Peter helped me choose it." Ren told him, and Remus smiled. Peter had always been good with gifts.

"I love it, thanks." He said. "Fancy a Chocolate Frog?"

The two of them ate Chocolate Frogs and chatted idly for the next fifteen minutes, until Ren suddenly fell silent. "Ren? Are you alright?" Remus asked as he swallowed a piece of chocolate. Ren looked up and gave him a weak smile.

"Yeah, I just… Was it bad last night?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She met his eyes and Remus saw that the dark chocolate brown pools were full of concern. He could just make out her pupils and he could see that they were wide.

Remus put down his half eaten chocolate bar and took hold of the hand she was resting on the bed. He used his other to tilt her chin upwards so she couldn't look away.

"Ren, there's really no need to get upset about it. I've been going through it for years, and yes the transformations are painful, but I'm used to it. And besides, I had the others with me, and that always makes things easier." When Remus finished speaking Ren looked conflicted, like she wanted to argue.

"I know, but…" She trailed off and pulled away from Remus' grip, leaning back against her chair. "It's just so unfair." She said, her voice quiet once more. "You don't deserve it, and… I just wish there was something I could do."

"No one deserves it," Remus said, not taking his eyes off her. "But life isn't fair, Ren. And there's nothing you can do except bring me loads and loads of chocolate every month. I'm expecting at least half of Honeydukes' stock by the end of the year." He joked in an attempt to lighten the mood, his eyes twinkling. Ren looked up and couldn't help but chuckle, softly. "Look, I didn't tell you so you could worry about something that can't be changed, I told you because I trust you." Remus went on to say, and Ren smiled.

"I know, I just can't help it." She said, but before Remus could respond, Madame Pomfrey bustled into the room from her office and swept over to Remus' bed.

"Well Mister Lupin, I should think you're in a suitable enough condition to go down to the Great Hall for dinner as long as you don't exhaust yourself- oh, good evening, Miss Gallagher." The Matron stopped abruptly when she looked up from her wooden clipboard and laid eyes on Ren. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was just…" Ren trailed off, obviously unsure on whether to tell Madame Pomfrey that she was in on Remus' secret. She glanced at Remus for help.

"Ren just came to see if my migraine had gone." He supplied. That wasn't a _complete_ fib. Earlier that day Remus had indeed had a severe migraine.

"Oh." Madame Pomfrey said, brightly, obviously assuming that was the excuse Remus had given Ren last night in order to explain his disappearance. "Well, as I was saying, you're permitted to leave for dinner now as long as you don't do anything that may drain a lot of your energy."

The Matron gave the two of them a brisk smile before hurrying back to her office. Remus pushed the sheets from his body, rose from the bed and picked up the folded clothes that had been placed on the bed next to him. The boys had brought them along when they had visited him earlier. He turned back to see Ren sitting in her chair, smiling placidly up at him.

"Err, Ren?" She seemed to snap back into reality when he spoke.

"Huh? Oh right, sorry." She rambled, before standing up, turning her chair to face the door, and sitting back down. Remus couldn't help but chuckle as he stared at the back of her head.

"Cheers." He said, unable to keep the amusement from his voice. Remus changed into the white t-shirt and jeans, quickly, before sitting on his bed and pulling on his socks and old Converse. "Okay, I'm good to go." He said as he stood up once more. Ren rose and turned to face him.

"Don't forget your chocolate." She said.

"I wouldn't dream it." Remus said with a smirk, picking up the Honeydukes bag. Ren grinned and the two of them made their way out of the Hospital Wing towards the Great Hall for dinner, not that Remus was hungry for food…

Ren's hair really did look pretty up. It showed off her slender neck, beautifully, making Remus want to pin her up against a wall and plant a delicate trail of kisses along the exposed, creamy skin. Ren seemed to be experiencing similar desires because she suddenly stopped and spoke.

"Fancy a bit of spontaneity?" She asked, her eyes darting over his shoulder in indication. Remus turned and saw a broom closet. He was taken by surprise for only a moment before nodding, sharply. He grabbed Ren's wrist, spun her around to face him fully and pressed his lips to hers. He could feel Ren smile against his lips before she pulled away and looked around.

She dragged him to the broom closet, flung the door open and pulled Remus inside. The door clicked shut behind them as there lips met again. She tasted faintly of chocolate, and Remus couldn't help but let out a small groan of satisfaction.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pushed her against the stone wall, knocking over a bucket and mop in the process, his other hand rising and cupping the back of her neck. He felt her throw her arms around his shoulders, pulling him as close as humanely possible, while his tounge slanted over hers, causing Ren to let out a moan.

Suddenly the closet door opened, and Ren and Remus turned their heads in terror just in time to see Doctor Jenkinson come into view. Upon seeing the couple, still wrapped in each others arms, the Doctor let out a small shriek of panic and slammed the door shut.

A full minute passed and neither Ren nor Remus said a word. They remained frozen in each others arms, still watching the door while trying to comprehend the fact that they had been caught.

"…Doctor?" Ren eventually called out, meekly. Remus was glad that she was able to speak. His vocal chords had seemed to abandoned him.

"…Yes?" A voice replied after a couple of beats. Remus tensed.

"I… it's not what it looks like." Ren attempted to explain through the wooden door.

"I don't know whether to believe you… what else could it possibly look like?" Said the voice, and Ren turned to Remus who could only stare, wide-eyed, back at her. She sighed.

"It's a long story." She said. There was another pause and Remus heard a shuffling from the other side of the door.

"Okay…" The Doctor said. "I'm… I'm going to open the door again. Are- are you decent?"

Remus detached himself from Ren.

"Yes." She called. Silence. Then the door slowly creaked open and Doctor Jenkinson peered around the wooden frame. When she saw that they were indeed 'decent', she pulled the door open wider.

The three of them stood there in an awkward silence for about a minute, neither of the two teenagers being able to make themselves look anywhere but the ground. It was clear none of them wanted to be there.

"Okay…" Doctor Jenkinson eventually said. "Okay, as much as I want to pretend that this didn't happen, I should _probably_ talk to at least one of you about this… situation." She continued. Her voice was nervous and full of awkwardness.

Remus forced himself to look at the young woman standing before him. He couldn't help but notice that she was stupidly pretty. Her long, dark hair had been styled in a neat bun, and she wore a grey tailored dress and a thin black belt around her waist. The dress complimented her pear-shaped figure, and Remus knew that if Sirius was here he wouldn't be able to take his eyes off her… lower half. "Okay…" She said again. "Seeing as I'm not, erm, how should I say… _as_ experienced with male hormones as I am with female hormones, I'm going to have to talk to you, Renee, I'm sorry."

She seemed to feel as bad about this situation as the two teenagers standing before her. Ren gave her a tentative nod.

"O-okay." She murmured, not questioning how the Doctor knew her name, seeing as everyone seemed to know her name since the start of term feast. Doctor Jenkinson turned her gaze to him, and Remus felt himself begin to blush.

"And Mister…"

"Remus Lupin, Doctor." He supplied, and the woman gave hi a warm smile.

"Remus, would you mind going ahead to dinner?" She asked, politely, and although Remus felt as though he should remain at Ren's side for support, it was clear that her request was not up for discussion.

"Okay," He said after a moment. "Sure." And with a final look to Ren, he turned and began to walk towards the Great Hall.

As he walked, Remus wondered what was going to happen now. They had been caught all thanks to a bit of spontaneity, and now Ren was most likely going to receive a lecture from the Doctor about how such acts were not appropriate within school. What would Doctor Jenkinson do? Would she tell one of the other Professors? Oh Merlin, Remus could only imagine the look of utter scandal on McGonagall's face if she found out. And what if the other students found out? After all the scoldings Remus had given Sirius for his promiscuous activities, the Animagus would never let this go. Neither would James or Peter.

But surely the Doctor wouldn't reveal something so personal. Only time would tell of what was to become of Remus' and Ren's Friends with Benefits relationship, and until that moment Remus decided to act as if nothing had changed. He couldn't raise suspicion amongst his friends, that wouldn't end well and he knew it.

As he entered the Great Hall, Remus saw that the majority of the school was already seated. This was quite odd because normally dinner was quite spaced out and the students would normally come and go from the Great Hall whenever it was dinner time. Yet the crowded hall before Remus showed that practically all the students and Professors were present, much like the start of term feast.

Remus made his way over to the Gryffindor table and spotted his fellow Marauders sitting with Ren's dorm mates. As he neared them, Remus noticed that Lily and James were sitting beside each other, and Remus couldn't help but grin before greeting them.

"Hey everyone." He said, and the group all greeted him enthusiastically, happy to see him back from the Hospital Wing.

"How's yer head feeling?" Marlene asked, kindly, and Remus remembered that he had had his friends put his disappearance down to a painful headache.

Better thanks." Remus answered as he took a seat between Sirius and Cassie.

"I put it down to the Shanglers." Cassie inputted as Remus helped himself to some food. "They breed particularly fast at this time of year." No one really said anything in response, there was just a few "Ohh"'s and "Most likely"'s thrown around.

"What's with all the people, by the way?" Remus questioned. "Why's everyone here at the same time?" Sirius placed his knife and fork down before answering.

"Dumbledore's got a special announcement for the Seventh Years. Everyone else is just hanging around 'cos they're nosy." He said, and Remus nodded his head in understanding. By the time that the last of the dishes had disappeared to the kitchens below, a growing sense of impatience was beginning to arise from the students. They were all eager to find out the special announcement of Dumbledore's, and wild speculations were beginning to fly around the hall.

"Maybe all exams will be cancelled."

"What if Tri-Wizard Tournament is being restarted."

"I bet Filch has finally killed someone."

"Or maybe someone's finally killed him, the cantankerous old bastard."

"Sirius!"

"Sorry, Evans."

However the suspicions all passed Remus by. All his mind could think about was how Ren still wasn't with them."

"Where's Ren, by the way?" Alice suddenly asked. Remus started, slightly, and looked up at the girl. It was as if she had read his mind. "Didn't she go to the Hospital Wing to see you, Remus?" Remus began to panic on the inside, but he tried to play it cool, especially now that Ren's absence had been pointed out.

"I… I think she said something about replying to a letter. She wasn't hungry." Remus fibbed. That was reasonably believable, he was impressed by his own smoothness. The group all seemed to believe him because they all went back to guessing what Dumbledore's announcement was. However, they didn't have to wait much longer because five minutes later, Dumbledore rose slowly from his chair.

"Good evening, Students." He said, softly. Despite the gentleness of his voice, he could still be heard from the four corners of the hall. "From seeing that most of you have remained, I am without a doubt sure that you are all deeply curious as to why I wished for the Seventh Years to linger."

Every eye in the hall was on Dumbledore, but the old man seemed unfazed. "I have decided that next month, on the night of the thirty first of October, there will be a Halloween Masquerade Ball for the Seventh Years."

A wave of murmurs overtook the hall, some of protest from the younger students, and some of excitement from the older ones. Dumbledore remained quiet for a moment, letting the news sink in.

He soon held up a hand for silence, and the hall eventually fell into quietness once more. "I have chosen for the ball to be for the Seventh Years because as their exams are approaching, this may be a way for them to have some more light-hearted memories of their final year at Hogwarts, instead of the intense revision I'm sure you will all be beginning soon." His eyes twinkled. "However, a number of special guests from other schools will be attending this ball in order to increase the schools relationships with foreign schools, so best behaviour will be expected from those students attending.

"Although there is still a considerable amount of time until the event, I'm informing you all now because I'm sure you will all be anxious to prepare… Plus I hardly doubt that I would be able to keep this exciting news from you all for any longer. More information will be given tomorrow morning to the Seventh Years in your Common Rooms throughout first period.

"For now though, I hope what I have divulged you in will satisfy your curiosity, but now I believe bed time is approaching, good night." He concluded, and just like that, the rapt attention was broken and excitement flooded through the hall.

"A ball? Seriously?" Sirius complained, obviously not as excited by the prospect as most of the Seventh Year girls, who were all giddy with excitement.

"Oh come on, Sirius. It'll be fun." Emmeline teased.

"Yeah, you could take Bradshaw." James chided, and Sirius punched him in arm so hard that James actually fell back off the bench.

"Arse." Sirius muttered.

**I hope it was okay. The next chapter probably won't be out for a while, so I hope you'll be able to wait. I hope you were all okay with the Chelsea/Sirius sex scene. I tried to make it as... loveless(?) as possible, if you know what I mean? Sorry if it's shit. **

**I decided to have a ball cos I thought it would be fun, and I've already got a lot of it planned. If people ask "Oh, but why would they have a ball now and not in the actual Harry Potter books?" I would say "Well I wouldn't excatly want to go to a ball on the anniversary of the deaths of past students." I hope that's a good answer.**

**And finally (sorry for the long AU) I've begun to plan a sequel for Perfectly Content once I've finished writing it. Although I'm no where near finished writing this, I've already got some planning done. It would be set just after the second war so it would mean older Sirius (not dead) and Ren. I hope you like the idea of a sequel, leave me a review letting me know what you think (of the chapter and sequel idea)**

**Love Evie x**

**P.S. Again, I'm sorry for long AU and any mistakes that may be in the chapter**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hello everyone, sorry it's been so long :(**

**Well, this is a _really_ short chapter and in all honesty I'm not that happy with it, but it's all I can squeeze out at the moment :( I'm still writing the next chapter so that probably won't be out for a good while. I hope this will make up for that. Sorry for any mistakes, I just wanted to get this out tonight so I didn't go over it in much detail. Enjoy! :)**

**Disclaimer: I own nada**

Perfectly Content  
_Chapter 17_

Awkwardness. That's what Ren felt at this current moment. Immense awkwardness, embarrassment and discomfort.

She was sat in the office of Doctor Jenkinson, her hands in her lap and her head bent. The Doctor herself was sat across from Ren, behind her desk, in a similar position. Ren's eyes shifted upwards and she began to admire the desk. As well as quills, ink and parchment, there was an assortment of little trinkets that looked to be from somewhere like Africa.

Ren noticed that there was also a plate with a small chocolate cake on it sat on it. She couldn't help but furrow her brow in both confusion and amusement. Suddenly, the Doctor's voice broke the silent.

"So…"

Ren looked up and forced herself to meet the young woman's eyes. She couldn't believe this was happening. "I'm guess you two are…" The Doctor trailed off before making the P in the V hand gesture.

Ren blushed, furiously, and nodded. "So, what? You're in a secret relationship? Because this is the first I've heard of this, and which students are dating is a hot topic in the staffroom." She almost smiled at that comment, but instead shook her head in response.

"No," Her voice was barely a whisper. "We're not together. Were… _friendswithbenefits_." She murmured that last part quickly and quietly, and the Doctor stared at her in confusion.

"I'm sorry, you're what?" She asked, having not been able to understand what Ren had said. Ren resisted the urge to sigh and instead blushed again.

"Remus and I aren't in a relationship," She said, before pausing for a moment. "We're… we're Friends with Benefits." Her voice was still quiet. Ren couldn't believe that she was admitting this. It was utterly humiliating!

She waited for the scolding, for the grand speech of inappropriateness, but to her surprise, it didn't come. She timidly looked up and saw that Doctor Jenkinson didn't look angry. In fact, she looked on the verge of… intrigued.

"Friends with Benefits?" She asked, and Ren nodded in confirmation. "Hm, how very modern."

"What?"

"What?" The Doctor cleared her throat and sat up a little straighter in her chair. "Anyway, erm…" She paused. "Wow, I haven't really got any training for this particular situation." Ren couldn't help but smile, slightly.

"I'm not surprised. It's not exactly a normal occurrence in a school." She found herself saying, and the Doctor smiled back at her.

"You can say that again. So just to clarify, there are no romantic feelings between the two of you?" The Doctor asked.

"None at all." Ren replied, and Doctor Jenkinson nodded in understanding.

"Well it may seem like that now, but my guess is that sooner or later there's going to be some sort of emotional attachment to him… or his genitals."

Ren's eyes widened at the Doctor's bluntness, and when she saw Ren's shocked expression the young woman's eyes widened as well. "Oh my God, that was really inappropriate." She exclaimed, covering her mouth in surprise.

"No, no, you're just doing your job, I guess." Ren said, hoping that Doctor Jenkinson didn't feel too bad about her words. "And… I suppose you're right, really." She added, quietly. "I just… I just don't want to be in a relationship."

"I know exactly what you mean." The Doctor said, leaning back into her chair. "Men are such idiots, its unreal." Ren looked up and saw the Doctor watching her intently, her arms folded over her chest in a relaxed manner. "Look, do you want to be romantically involved with this Remus kid?" She asked, and Ren shook her head.

"No! I don't want to be romantically involved with anyone!" She insisted.

"And does he want to be romantically involved with you?"

"No." Ren responded. "We're just friends."

"Then I can't help but feel that you should call off this… arrangement before it escalates into something else. You don't have to do it straight away, but… soon."

Ren thought about the Doctor's words. Maybe she was right. Maybe continuing with the Friends with Benefits relationship would eventually do more damage tot their friendship than good.

Who was she kidding? Of course it would. Ren figured that deep down she had always known it would, but she hadn't wanted to admit it to herself because it just been so easy.

"So… when do you suggest I- we call things off?" Ren asked, finding herself feeling more and more comfortable around Doctor Jenkinson. There was just something about her that was almost soothing.

"Err…" The Doctor mused. "That depends on how long this has been going on."

"Since the summer." Ren told her, and the Doctor nodded in thought.

"Well, I'd say by December at the very latest. You don't have to call it off straight away, just… y'know, cut down." She said. Ren couldn't help but think that Doctor Jenkinson was right. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew that all good things had to come to an end.

Ren looked down to her lap once more. She couldn't help but feel rather disappointed that her relationship with Remus had to come to an end, even though she had always known that it would have to eventually.

As if sensing her sadness, the Doctor spoke again. "Look, I understand that it must be kind of upsetting for you." She said, and Ren nodded. "I totally get that having an, erm, _agreement_-" She put particular stress on that word "-with someone to have… sex… without any real feelings is so much easier than having to commit to someone fully, especially when you don't want to be in a relationship. But trust me, no good will come of it in the long run."

The Doctor was right and Ren knew it. But that didn't stop it this whole situation from making Ren's heart ache, slightly. "Would it make you feel any better if I gave you a piece of cake?" The Doctor suddenly asked after a moment of silence, and Ren couldn't help but smile.

"Yes please." She answered, quietly.

Doctor Jenkinson nodded and pulled the small plate that help the cake towards her. She picked up a silver knife that had been lying next to the dessert, and cut into it.

After removing the knife, the Doctor began to stare at the cake, intently, knife poised over it. She was obviously debating with herself how big to make the slice. After a full minute, the Doctor finally lowered the knife, making an average-sized slice.

She then put the knife down, picked up her wand and conjured up two white saucers before transferring the slice of cake onto one of them.

"Before I give you this," The Doctor began, "You should know that I have never, in my entire life, shared a cake. Ever." She slid the small plate across the desk, but as Ren reached out to take it, the Doctor pulled it back, slightly. "_Ever_." She stressed.

Ren nodded in understanding.

"I'm honoured." She said, and when Doctor Jenkinson permitted her to take the cake with a tiny nod, Ren thanked her. This was so fucking weird. Ren had never, _ever_ eaten cake with a member of staff from Durmstrang. In fact, there had been no member of staff quite like Doctor Jenkinson at her old school.

The Doctor had now risen from her seat, after cutting herself a considerably larger slice of cake than Ren's and placing it on the second saucer, and was carrying the plate of remaining cake towards an Aboriginal styled painting.

Ren watched with utmost curiosity as the Doctor pulled on the side of the painting and it swung open, revealing a secret cubby hole of sorts. Ren craned her neck and peered around the Doctor. She saw that a number of cakes, both small and large, sat within the hole, each with a glass cake cover over them.

The Gryffindor couldn't help but stare as Doctor Jenkinson placed the small chocolate cake amongst the others and put a cake cover over it before closing the painting and returning to her desk.

This really couldn't get any weirder.

"You really like cake, huh?" Ren asked, her expression verging between amusement and bewilderment.

"More than life itself." The Doctor replied, simply. Ren shrugged in agreement and began to eat her slice, as did Doctor Jenkinson. With a mouthful of cake, the young woman let out a rather loud moan, to which Ren raised an eyebrow.

It had just gotten weirder.

"This is the best cake I've tasted today!" The Doctor announced, her mouth still full.

"Today? How often do you eat cake?"

"Practically every meal is cake." Doctor Jenkinson answered, completely serious.

"Every meal?" Ren asked in astonishment. The Doctor slowly leant forward.

"Every meal." She murmured in a low voice.

"Merlin, that's a lot of cake."

"It's still not enough though." The Doctor said, leaning back in her chair. She had a somewhat whimsical look on her face that made Ren suspect that she was fantasising about cake…

"I hear that." Ren said. "You can never have too much cake."

"Ooh, preach it sister!" The Doctor hollered, and Ren couldn't help but laugh.

For the next ten minutes Ren and the Doctor sat in her office, eating cake and discussing their favourite kinds. "I hope they have cake at the ball." The Doctor said when the two of them had finished eating. Ren's brows furrowed in confusion.

"Ball?" She asked. "What ball?" The Doctor stared at her for a moment before realisation seemed to dawn on her.

"Ohhh, you don't know do you?" She asked, and Ren stared back.

"Know what?"

"Well Dumbledore was going to tell everyone at dinner tonight, but seeing as we've been discussing… y'know, I bet we missed the announcement."

"What announcement?" Ren asked, her impatience mounting.

"Dumbledore's decided to throw a masquerade ball for the Seventh Years on Halloween." Was the Doctor's response.

A ball? Seriously? She was going to have to dress up in some poxy dress and act full of airs and graces, fantastic. Although, the masquerade element could be interesting…

"Why is it only for the Seventh Years?" Ren asked the Doctor, who straightened in her chair, slightly.

"Apparently some special guests are going to be attending. Dumbledore thinks that the Seventh Years will be the best behaved and most mature students." She said, and Ren couldn't help but snort in amusement. Had Dumbledore met James and Sirius? Yeah, real mature.

"Are you going?" Ren asked.

"If I'm aloud to go I'm so there, Homegirl." The Doctor replied, grinning, and Ren burst out laughing.

"I've never been called 'Homegirl' in my entire life." She told the chuckling Doctor.

"Well there's a first time for everything." She said, smiling warmly at Ren.

By half seven, Ren was walking back to the Common Room, reminiscing over her evening with Doctor Jenkinson, or as she had instructed Ren to call her, Loren.

Ren had quickly come to the conclusion that Loren was one of the nicest adults at Hogwarts, and she found her almost as easy to talk to as she did Remus or Lily. Maybe it was because she was so young, at only twenty two years of age.

As strange as the whole situation was, Ren honestly wouldn't be surprised is she ended up calling the Doctor a friend by the end of year. Before she had left her office, Loren had promised Ren that she would keep her and Remus' secret, something which Ren was grateful for, as long as Ren promised that she would come back to speak to her if she ever needed to.

Ren had a feeling that she would end up going back to talk to the young Doctor regardless of whether she needed to discuss her problems or not.

"Nimbus." Ren uttered when she reached the Fat Lady's portrait, which swung open at her words. She walked into the Common Room and scanned the cosy space before her in search of her friends. As she did so, Ren noticed that all of the sofa cushions had disappeared, leaving people sitting on the rather hard sofa frames.

She spotted Lily and Alice sitting at one of the study tables by the windows and headed over to them. Lily was flicking through what looked like her Potions book, while Alice was fiddling with the lens of a camera. Alice noticed Ren approaching them first and, quick as a cricket, brought the camera up to her face, peered through the viewfinder and snapped a picture of Ren.

Ren blinked at the bright flash before grinning at Alice. "Hey, I wasn't ready." She teased, and Alice rolled her eyes.

"Fine, one… two… three." And this time, when Alice took the picture, Ren pouted, dramatically, at the camera. "Beautiful." Alice said with a giggle, and Ren laughed.

"You girls alright?" She asked, and Lily nodded.

"Yes thanks, are you? You spent ages sending that letter, you missed dinner." She said. Ren was puzzled for a moment before realising that this had probably been Remus' excuse for her absence.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine." She said. "And I popped into the library after to look up something for Charms."

"Oh right, did you find everything you need?" Lily asked while Alice went back to polishing the camera, and Ren nodded.

"By the way, have either of you seen Remus? I, erm, wanted to chat to him about the Defence against the Dark Arts assignment." She said. Yeah, that seemed believable.

"I think he's in his dormitory." Alice said, not looking away from her camera. Ren thanked her, said her goodbyes and trotted off towards the staircase leading towards the boys dormitories.

When she reached the dormitory belonging to Remus, Sirius, James and Peter, Ren knocked on the door and took a step back. A few moments passed before she heard some fumbling behind the door.

"What's the password?" A muffled voice asked, that she recognised as Sirius'. Ren's brow furrowed.

"What?" She called back in confusion.

"Nope." Said the voice.

"Wha- Sirius, open the door!" Ren protested.

"Not even close!" The voice responded. Ren could here Sirius and someone, who she guessed was James, sniggering quietly.

"Is it 'Sirius and James are immature idiots'?" She asked.

"Guess again."

Ren couldn't help but roll her eyes. _'Merlin, give me strength'_ She thought as she pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. Right, she was going to have to play dirty…

"Sirius, come on!" Ren pleaded, trying to sound as needy as possible. "I've got this new bra on that I'm desperate to show you guys!"

That did it. The door was flung open to reveal Sirius and James gawking at her with eager looks in their eyes.

"Come on then." Sirius prompted, excitedly. Ren raised an eyebrow.

"I'll show you my bra when you show me yours." She said before sauntering past the boys and into the room. However, she stopped in her tracks when she saw the state of the room. "Merlin's beard, what the bloody hell are you two doing in here?"

The dormitory looked like it had been hit by a bomb. Every possible item in the room was on the floor. From clothes, shoes, broomsticks and the actual furniture, it was all upturned or strewed across the room.

Ren also saw that the mattresses had been removed from the bed frames and currently stood on their sides, corners touching, making what looked like a fort. One of the mattresses had been placed on top of the others, making a roof for the fort, and the fourth wall had been made up of the missing cushions from the Common Room. They had been arranged so that there was a small gap in the centre of them which Ren guessed was the entrance.

"Is… is that a fort?" She asked in disbelief. It was pretty impressive if she was being honest with herself.

"Welcome to Camp Marauder." James said, smiling fondly at his and Sirius' creation.

"I'm not going to lie, this is awesome." Ren said, taking a few steps towards the fort, examining it as she did so. "Why in Merlin's name have you made a fort?" She asked, turning back to the boys. The two of them just shrugged in unison.

"We were bored." Sirius answered. Ren grinned at him before pulling her wand from the back pocket of her jeans and heading over to the still open door.

"Accio Polaroid." She said, and a few moments later her beloved Polaroid camera zoomed into her hands. "Come on, pose for me." She said, turning back to James and Sirius, who happily complied with her wish.

They must have used some sort of sticking charm on the fort because the two boys began to clamber onto the mattress roof. Both of them were far too tall to stand up straight without hitting their heads on the ceiling, so they both balanced on their knees and posed as if they were brandishing imaginary swords and shields, looking positively ridiculous as they did so.

Ren couldn't help but chuckle, slightly, as she took the picture, and when the film slid out of the camera, she burst into full on laughter when she looked at it. It was defiantly a keeper. Sirius and James leapt down from the fort and bounded over to Ren.

"Aren't we just radiant, Prongs?" Sirius asked James as the two of them admired the photo over Ren's shoulders.

"Stunning." James agreed. Ren grinned and placed the photo and her camera on one of the nightstands which, miraculously, hadn't been upturned.

"So anyway, what can we do you for, Brown-Eyes?" Sirius asked. Ren tore her gaze away form the fort and looked up at him.

"Hm? Oh, I was looking for Remus." She said. Seeing Camp Marauder had completely thrown her off, causing her to forget whey she had come up to the dormitory in the first place.

"Remus? Are you sure I can't help you with anything?" Sirius questioned with a smirk, and Ren rolled her eyes.

"No, Sirius." She said, slightly deadpanned. "But thanks for the offer." She added, and Sirius shrugged.

"It was worth a try." He said. "Anyway, Moony's in the shower." It was then that Ren noticed the faint sound of the running shower coming from behind a closed door on the other side of the room.

"Oh, right." Ren said, she looked away from the door and turned back to the two boys. "I guess I'll come back later then." She made to leave but was halted by James.

"He'll be out soon, I reckon. We could show you around Camp Marauder while you wait, if you like?"

Ten minutes later Ren, Sirius and James were all huddled inside the fort, each of them munching on a Chocolate Frog from Remus' Deluxe Tray. The inside of the fort had been lit by a single floating dome of light that James had conjured, and it was furnished by the covers pillows from the beds.

Each of them had a duvet over their lap or around their shoulders, and Ren could tell from the faint smell of chocolate that her cover emitted that it was from Remus' bed.

The three of them were chatting, quietly, when they heard the bathroom door lock being pulled back and the door being opened, causing each of them to fall silent. From her spot opposite Sirius, Ren heard Remus pad across the room, apparently unaffected by the bombsite that had once been his dormitory.

"You guys in there?" He suddenly called from outside the fort.

"You bet your sweet arse we are." Sirius called back. Remus' head poked through the entrance and he surveyed the inside of the den. When his eyes landed on Ren they widened and he started in surprise.

"Ren!" He exclaimed.

"Hey." She said back with a smile. I wanted to know if you'd go to the Library with me so we could get some information for the Defence against the Dark Arts essay." She hoped he would catch on to the fact that she really just wanted to talk about her meeting with Doctor Jenkinson.

"The Library? If that's all you wanted I could have gone with you." Sirius interjected, and Ren turned to him.

"Thanks, but I didn't want to have to hide if we bumped into one of you fangirls." She said, and Sirius grinned at her.

"Oh come on, you had fun hiding with me. Admit it." He attempted to argue.

"So much fun that I fell asleep." Ren countered, and Sirius scoffed.

"You loved it really." He said, and Ren laughed before turning back to Remus.

"So, will you?" She asked him. Remus seemed to know exactly what she really wanted to talk about because he nodded, eagerly, and pulled his head out the entrance.

Ren turned to the other boys and they both motioned for her to go first, so Ren threw the quilt off her body and crawled towards the entrance. She heard the boys follow suit.

"Now that's a view I could get used to." She heard Sirius say from behind her as she crawled through the hole. Unable to help herself, Ren scoffed and kicked her leg backwards, sharply making contact with what felt like a chest.

"Ow!" James exclaimed, followed by a bark of laughter from Sirius.

"Oops, sorry James. I was aiming for Sirius." Ren said ad she crawled out into the dormitory. "It wouldn't have happened if he had been keeping his eyes to himself." She added as she took Remus' outstretched hand and pulled herself up. Sirius' smug face poked out of the hole and he smirked up at her.

"That's easier said than done when your arse is in my face." He said, and Ren just rolled her eyes. The two boys emerged from their den and stood up, facing Ren and Remus.

"Are you two really going to go to the library now?" James asked, sounding almost disgusted at the idea. Ren just shrugged and Remus chuckled.

"That's what we nerds do." He said, and Ren turned to him.

"I'm not a nerd, thank you very much." She protested, and Remus smiled at her.

"You're more of a nerd than these two." He said in response, motioning to James and Sirius, who stood there grinning at them.

"Okay, point taken." Ren said. "Right, shall we go?" She then asked, and Remus nodded. The two of them said their goodbyes before hurrying out of the dorm, down the stairs, through the Common Room and out into the corridors of Hogwarts.

They ended up not going to the Library, but instead into a small alcove behind a tapestry that Remus and the others had discovered.

"So?" Remus asked, nervously, when the tapestry had fallen back into its place, successfully hiding the two of them.

"I told her everything." Ren said, quietly. Remus visibly paled at her words and his eyes widened in shock, but he remained silent. "She said she wouldn't tell anyone but she advised us to eventually put an end to it before it complicates things between us." Ren told him, and Remus nodded, slowly.

"What did she mean 'eventually'?" He asked.

"That we don't have to stop right away. She said that we should stop by December at the very latest." Ren answered. The werewolf let out a shaky sigh before giving her a small smile.

"I guess she's right." He said, in a low voice. It was obvious that neither of them really wanted their Friends with Benefits relationship to come to an end, but both Ren and Remus knew that it eventually had to. "All good things must come to an end, right?" Ren chuckled.

"Unfortunately, yes. But we still have a few months to go until the deadline, do we not?" Ren asked, smirking as she did so. Remus couldn't help but smirk back.

"We most certainly do." He said, before taking a step forward and pressing his lips to hers.

**Volià, I hope it wasn't too bad. I did quite enjoy writing Doctor Jenkinson. She's based off my friend, so it was most entertaining to transfer her to paper. Some of what she said was actual responses from her. ****I know some readers will be upset that Remus' and Ren's Friends with Benefits relationship has to come to an end:( But hey, it was fun while it lasted. Sirius' and Ren's relationship will begin to progress from here which is going to be interesting:P**

**Anyway, I hope you like it and PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, REVIEW! As I mentioned in previous A/N's, I'm not afraid to beg ;) It would just make it worth while if I knew what you all thought. Thanks for reading:)**

**Evie x**


	18. Chapter 18

**Wow, sorry it's been so long :S Anyway, here is the next instalment of tale. I apologize for any mistakes, I typed this up as quickly as possible and I just wanted to get it uploaded.**

**Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it**

Perfectly Content  
_Chapter 18_

"Good morning, Seventh Years. I trust you are all well."

Sirius let out a soft snore and jolted himself awake at the sound of Professor McGonagall's brisk voice. It was Monday morning and the Gryffindor Seventh Years were all gathered on the Common Room.

Sirius, who had wedged himself onto an armchair that was already occupied by Ren after arriving late and seeing that there was no more free seating, attempted to stifle a yawn. It was really too early to even think of being awake.

From beside him, Ren seemed to be sharing his feelings because she looked like she was battling to stay awake, just as he was. "Now, you all know why we're here; I am to give you the information regarding the formal, masquerade ball that will take place on the evening of Halloween."

Sirius couldn't help but role his eyes as the majority of the girls in the room began to murmur, excitedly. "Settle down please, ladies." McGonagall said, sharply. Sirius inwardly smirked at the put out looks on the girls faces. He liked McGonagall's no nonsense ways. The term 'Firm but fair' seemed to have been invented for her.

"Now, a formal ball," The Professor went on to say. "Is just that; formal. A certain etiquette is expected from you all. Attire is usually traditional robes or a black tuxedo for the gentlemen and long ball gowns for the ladies. Women wearing trousers is all but forbidden-"

"Damn." Sirius heard Ren whisper from her space next to him, or practically under him.

"-And the gowns must not be at all racy or provocative."

"Damn." Sirius muttered, and he glanced at Ren to see her struggling to prevent a chuckle escaping her lips.

"Hair and nails should be meticulously done. Hair should be upswept or otherwise arranged in a formal style. Perfumes are fine, but no overpowering aromas-"

"Don't worry, Professor. I'll make sure Sirius keeps his aftershave to the bare minimum." James interrupted, causing a small wave of laughter to flow through the room.

"That's very considerate of you, Potter." McGonagall said, a small smile threatening to form on her thin lips. "There are certain things that aren't acceptable at a formal ball under any circumstances whatsoever. I will go over them in more detail when the time comes, but I will give you the basics now.

"You must never apply cosmetics or brush your hair anywhere but the bathroom-"

"Yeah, Sirius."

"Shut up, Ren."

"-Kick of your shoes and rub your feet, pick your teeth, belch, scratch, put your fingers in your ear or any other orifice for that matter -control yourself, Mister Potter-, speak out loud against any food or drinks that are being served, gossip against other guests, smack someone on the back, lay your head on the table or take off your mask any other time besides when seated at the table."

There was a pregnant pause after McGonagall had finished speaking.

"Wow." Came the voice of Benjy Fenwick.

"As I said, I will go over them in more detail when the date approaches. There are also things that will be expected from you, such as conversing with other guests, laughing when appropriate, thanking each partner for each dance-"

"Dance? We have to dance?" Sirius interrupted, unable to help himself. He had been dozing, quite comfortably, against Ren's shoulder, almost falling asleep, when McGonagall's last point had jerked him awake.

"Yes, Mister Black, dance. What would you expect from a ball?" McGonagall asked, to which Sirius just gaped at her. "You will all be taking part in dance lessons in a few weeks."

A large groan escaped the Seventh Years, mainly the boys. Dance lessons? Was McGonagall serious? Personally, Sirius couldn't think of anything more humiliating. "And before anyone asks, yes you _have_ to take part. Professor Dumbledore himself said so." The Transfiguration Professor added, causing another groan to erupt from the Gryffindors.

"For the love of Merlin." Sirius mumbled to himself, rubbing his temple.

"I don't expect any complaints from you once the visiting schools arrive. Especially seeing as the Head Boy and Girl are both Gryffindors. I will not tolerate any unacceptable behaviour." McGonagall said, and it was then that Lily raised her hand into the air. Sirius saw that she had a look of rapt attention on her face. "Yes, Miss Evans?"

"Professor, I was wondering if you knew which schools would be joining us." Lily said, and Sirius sat up a little straighter. He couldn't deny that he was rather interested in which schools would be involved in the event.

The only other Wizarding schools that he knew of were Durmstrang, seeing as Ren had come from there, and a French school by the name of Beauxbatons. Sirius had been at an Appleby Arrows Quidditch match with James and the two of them had met a delightful gaggle of beautiful French girls, who later indulged Sirius and James in stories of their time at the Academy.

"Well Miss Evans, we were informed this morning that we will be joined by the head teacher and head students of five schools from around the globe. From France, we have Beauxbatons Academy of Magic-" Sirius smirked. "-From America, the Salem Witches Institute. Then from Africa, the Nelson Mandela School of Magic. From Greece, The Academy of Mageia, and finally, from an undisclosed location, Durmstrang Institute."

A quiet groan sounded from Sirius' side, and when he turned he saw that Ren had her face buried in her hands.

"For God's sake." She muttered to herself, and Sirius couldn't help but feel sorry for her. It was obvious that the last thing she wanted was to come into contact with anyone or anything from her old school. Not that Sirius could really blame her. From what he had heard about Durmstrang it didn't seem like the most pleasant of places.

Without even realising what he was doing, Sirius took hold of the free hand Ren had rested in her lap and gave it an encouraging squeeze. Ren drew her head back from her other hand and turned to him. The look she gave him was a mixture of confusion and gratitude. Sirius smiled, gently, at her and he watched as her eyes flickered down to his large hand, covering her own small, soft one. She then met his gaze one more and gave him a warm smile of gratefulness.

Although it was small, the smile that graced her lips was as bright as the summer sun, and it seemed to sweeten the very air in Sirius' lungs. He felt a distinct amount of pride at the fact that he had managed to conjure the tiny display of thankfulness with a simple gesture of kindness.

Despite this initial swell of joy that Sirius had first found arising within him, a deep feeling of both annoyance and worry had now crept into Sirius' mind. Annoyance because something as simple as a girls smile had never made his stomach flutter before, and worry for much the same reason.

Sirius Black did not go all giddy eyed for anyone. He never had and he had always assumed that he never would. Yet even Sirius was beginning to come to terms with the development of his feelings for Ren.

But he still didn't completely get it. What was so different about this girl? Why did her smile cause him to grin like an idiot? Why did her smell, that rich vanilla scent, entice and sooth him like nothing ever had before. Why did he feel immense irritation whenever he noticed another boy talking to her, or even looking at her?

Sirius and Ren were not a couple, he had no right to feel so protective of her. And as much as he hated to admit it to himself, Sirius knew what these budding feelings would eventually lead to, and that scared the hell out of him.

He knew that one day, however far away that day was, he would end us fancying Ren Gallagher.

Sirius didn't like that prospect one bit, but he knew it was unavoidable. Ever since he had first laid eyes on her back in the summer holidays, something had drawn him to her, and he knew that this attraction to her would only continue to grow, however much he may try to deny it.

A sudden weight on Sirius' shoulder jolted him from his thoughts. He turned to see Ren resting her head on his shoulder, eyes closed and her hand still clutching his. Sirius smiled as he remembered the last time they had been in this position.

It was clear that Ren was as tired as he was, and McGonagall's voice prattling on about what will be expected of them at the ball was not enough to keep her awake. Slowly, Sirius' head began to loll to the side, and it soon came into contact with Ren's.

Her curls tickled his nose and he could smell her familiar creamy scent more prominently than ever, and it was that aroma that lulled him into a peaceful sleep…

"Aww look at them."

"Merlin, Em, you're so soppy."

"Oh come on, they do look kind of cute."

"Padfoot is not cute."

"Agreed."

"Yeah, you've only got eyes for me, right Lily?"

"Shut up, James."

The sound of his friend's voices was enough to draw Sirius from his slumber and into that strange state when his mind was waking up but his body remained asleep.

"Seriously guys, don't ye think we should wake them up? Class starts in five minutes."

"An excellent suggestion, Marley. Peter, fetch me my shaving cream and a feather."

"I'm on it."

"Before you guys do anything stupid, just wait a minute."

There was a slight fumbling, a pause, a click, and then a blinding flash that was enough to wake both Sirius and Ren up fully. The two of them both jolted upright and began to rub their eyes, trying to get them to adjust to the light.

"Jesus Christ." Sirius muttered. He could hear Ren mumbling something along similar lines.

"Good morning starshine, the earth says hello." Sirius heard James say, and he could just picture the shit-eating grin that he was sure was plastered on his best friends face.

"You need to sort that flash out, Alice." Sirius heard Ren groan from his side. He turned and watched as she continued to rub her eyes.

"I couldn't resist." Alice said. Sirius looked round and saw that James, Peter, Remus, Lily, Emmeline, Marlene, Cassie and Alice were all standing before them. He glanced around the Common Room and saw that the other Seventh Years were all beginning to clear out and head to second period. Ren, who had also been surveying the room, yawned and stretched.

"So what did we miss?" She asked.

"Not much really, just something about how long the people from the other schools will be staying for." Lily answered.

"How long is that?" Sirius asked.

"They should arrive on Halloween and leave about a week later." Remus said, and at his words Ren let out a quiet groan, however she rose from her chair before anyone could question her.

"Right, what lesson do we have?" She asked.

"Potions." Peter said, and now it was Sirius' turn to groan. He didn't actually have anything against the subject himself, he actually quite enjoyed making interesting little concoctions with James and testing Slughorn's patience, but recently Sirius found himself becoming more and more irritated with people in the class. One in particular.

Ever since their first Potions lesson the year, Rosier had been becoming increasingly obnoxious over the fact that Ren had been seated next to him. He couldn't be more of a gentleman when speaking to Ren, but the moment her back was turned the most lascivious looks, that made even Sirius' stomach turn, appeared over the Slytherin's sharp face.

The group was now making their way towards their Potions classroom, and Sirius had noticed that Ren was walking about a meter behind the rest of them. The look on her face instantly made Sirius suspect that her thoughts were straying to her old school.

He felt bad for the girl. It was obvious that Durmstrang and the people in it had a negative effect on her, and now she would have to meet with them again, despite the blatant desire of hers to stay as far away as possible from them.

It couldn't hurt to talk to her about it… could it?

* * *

"I know I'm no seer or anything, but I'm getting the feeling that something's up."

Ren looked up to see Sirius slowing his steps so he was walking beside her. She stood up a little straighter and tried to muster a convincing smile.

She didn't want Sirius to think that she was being silly, because she knew it was to be upset over the fact that she would have to see Karkaroff and whoever he had made Head Boy and Girl again. She knew it wasn't the end of the world, but Merlin it felt pretty close right now.

"Nothing's up." She said to Sirius with a brisk smile. "I'm just tired." She added, hoping it would be enough to convince him.

"Uh huh, yeah, sure." Sirius rambled, obviously not believing her. "Now," He took hold of her arm and pulled her to a halt just as the others rounded a corner. "Why don't you cut the bullshit and tell me what's bothering you."

"Nothing's wrong, Sirius." Ren said, pulling her arm out of his grasp and taking a step back. "I told you, I'm just tired." She insisted.

"Oh really?" Sirius asked, taking a step towards her. "Because when McGonagall mentioned that your old school is invited to the ball you seemed slightly put out."

Damn.

"Is it that obvious?" She asked, quietly, and Sirius nodded. Ren sighed and ran a hand through her hand in frustration. "I just don't want anything to do with that school." She murmured. "Even though I don't know who the Head Students are I know they'll be a pair of arseholes, and…" She trailed off and turned away from Sirius. She didn't want to make a habit of crying in front of him.

"And?" He pressed, softly.

What Sirius did next completely stunned Ren. He slowly brought his hand up and gently pushed one her stray curls behind her ear. Ren turned back to him and stared, almost in confusion. His stormy grey eyes were soft and held a foreign tenderness that she had never witnessed in Sirius' eyes ever before.

"And Karkaroff will be there." She finished in a meek voice. The thought of seeing that cruel, vicious old snake again terrified Ren. She had never realised just how much she feared him and his lingering eyes until she had escaped them. She had always assumed that all Head Teachers held that element of severity until she had came to Hogwarts.

"Karkaroff?" Sirius asked, obviously unaware of whom he was.

"The Headmaster at Durmstrang." Ren explained.

"What's he like?"

"Well… he's no Dumbledore, to say the least." Ren said, almost bitterly. "And I bet I'll have to speak to him and tell him how I'm finding it here." She shuddered at the very thought of having to be in the same room as him, let alone conversing with him. "What am I going to do, Sirius?" She whispered.

In response Sirius simply pulled her into a hug. Ren wrapped her arms around his neck and she felt his arms tighten around her waist.

"You don't have to do anything." He murmured into her hair. Ren smiled, her face buried in the crook of his neck. She inhaled his scent. An unusual combination of leather and spices, but Ren liked it regardless.

"You smell nice." She said, her voice muffled. Sirius chuckled, softly.

"So do you." He said before releasing her. Ren took a step back and ran a hand through her hair. "We better get to class or else people will think we've been having hot, passionate corridor sex." Sirius said, and Ren rolled her eyes, a habit that she found she was doing more and more.

"Well you're back to normal." She said, and Sirius gave her a sheepish smile.

"What's that meant to mean?" He asked, delivering a playful poke to her stomach.

"That the sweet and caring Sirius has been replaced by the usual flirtatious and flamboyant Sirius." She said, casually, with a shrug of her shoulders as the two of them started walking to class. However at her words Sirius came to an abrupt halt.

For a moment Ren feared that she may have actually offended him when she saw the shocked look on his face. That was, however, until he opened his mouth.

"You really think I'm flamboyant?" He asked, placing a hand over his heart. Ren couldn't help but scoff.

"Oh please, have you seen yourself in the mirror lately, Boy George?" She asked. This time the drop of Sirius' jaw was completely genuine, and Ren couldn't help but giggle at the sight.

"Did you just compare me to Boy George?" He demanded, his voice an octave higher than usual. Ren just laughed and continued on her way to the dungeon, leaving a stunned Sirius standing alone in the corridor.

It wasn't long, however, before Ren heard him chasing after her. "I can't believe-" He said once he had caught up to her and slowed to her pace "-that you just called me Boy George."

"Oh come on, I'm sure you've been called worse." Ren said as the two of them crossed the Entrance Hall.

"Somehow Boy George was the most offensive."

"Well I apologize for that, but right now I think we should focus on coming up with an excuse as to why we're late." Ren said, and Sirius gave her a confused look.

"We can't be that late." He said. The two of them were now standing outside the Potions classroom, just beside the closed door.

"Well regardless, I think we should have a reason as to why we're late." Ren argued.

"Who needs an excuse? We'll just tell them the truth; we were having amazing sex in the corridor."

"Sirius!"

"Fine, fine, don't worry. I've got something brilliant up my sleeve, just follow my lead." And with that, Sirius opened the door and strutted into the classroom. Ren sighed before following him in.

"Mister Black, Miss Gallagher. May I ask why the two of you are ten minutes late to my lesson?" Slughorn asked when the door slammed shut behind them, alerting the other students of their arrival.

Slughorn stood behind his desk in robes of a dull orange to match his ginger moustache. He didn't exactly look angry, more curious as to their tardiness. Sirius better have something good.

"Are we really late, Sir?" Sirius began, and Ren turned to look up at him, incredulously. "Or are we simply extremely early for our next lesson?" Ren brought her hand to her face in embarrassment.

"No, Mister Black. You are indeed late." Slughorn said. "And even if that was the case, you would still be later than all of your fellow students." He added with a slight chuckle. "Now, Miss Gallagher," Ren stood up a little straighter. "Perhaps you can tell me why you're really late." Ren swallowed, nervously.

"Well," She began. "On the way here Sirius realised that he had forgotten his book, and I offered to go and get it with him." She tried to appear as casual as possible. Slughorn scrutinized her for a moment before a wide grin broke out on his chubby face.

"How very generous of you, my dear girl." He said, cheerily, before turning to Sirius. "And Mister Black, I advice you to be a little more organised." He scolded, lightly. "We can't have you making Miss Gallagher late again." He chuckled, and Ren felt her cheeks burn at his words.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Sir." Sirius said with a smirk, and Ren had a feeling that he was going to make it his personal mission to make her as late for Potions as possible in the future.

"Well, take your seats, you hadn't really missed much anyway." Slughorn said before turning his attention back to the class. Sirius shot Ren a relieved look before sauntering off to his seat next to James while Ren sat down beside Rosier. The blonde sent her a cool smile before leaning in close to her.

"I was wondering where you were." He whispered in her ear. Ren's spine tingled at his words, and not in the good way. In their past Potion lessons, Rosier had been perfectly friendly, but he would occasionally throw in a few flirtatious comments. Normally when this happened Ren would just brush them off, but today Ren just wanted to get this lesson over and one with.

"Well I had to help Sirius." She said with a tight smile. She still wasn't totally cool with Rosier after witnessing his treatment of Lily on the train, but she was prepared to be civil. Rosier scoffed, quietly.

"Oh please, Ren. He's not a baby." He said, playfully. "He's capable of fetching his own book."

"Yeah, well that's what friend do, Evan." Ren said, curtly, before focusing her attention on Slughorn.

"So as I was saying last lesson," The Potions Master was saying. "We will be trying to recreate the potion Amortentia." It was now that Ren noticed the cauldron sat atop of Slughorn's desk. The potion within it was a shimmering, pearly substance, and Ren could see the steam that it produced spiralled upwards in beautiful patterns.

"Can anyone tell me anything about this potion?" Slughorn asked, motioning to the cauldron on his desk. Several people, including Ren, raised their hands, but Slughorn called on Lily. "Yes, Miss Evans?"

"Amortentia is the most powerful love potion in the world. It creates an omnipotent infatuation or obsession within the drinker." Lily explained, and Slughorn couldn't look more pleased.

"Very good, Miss Evans, five points to Gryffindor. Now, as Miss Evans mentions, Amortentia creates infatuation and obsession, not actual love. There isn't a potion in this world that can create true love, therefore it is an extremely dangerous potion.

"Amortentia is also known for having a different scent to each person, based on what each smeller finds attractive. So I thought that before we begin trying to brew the potion we could have some of you come and smell it." A lot of the class, namely the girls, sat up a little straighter. Slughorn scanned the classroom for a moment. "Miss Newton, would you be so kind?"

A busty Slytherin girl with light brown hair rose from her chair and walked over to Slughorn's desk. Ren vaguely recognised her as the girl who had caused Sirius to hide behind a suit of armour in order to avoid. The class watched as she bent forward, slightly, and took a deep breath through her nose, inhaling the potions fumes.

"I smell lavender and… peaches." She said. There was a snigger from James as Sirius whispered something to him.

"Mister Black, would you care to indulge us in what Mister Potter found so entertaining?" Slughorn asked as the Slytherin girl took her seat. Sirius remained quiet, but fixed Slughorn with a mischievous stare. "No? Well in that case would you like to put your mouth to better use by telling us what you smell from the potion?"

"I'd love to, Sir." Sirius said before hauling himself up from his chair and sauntering over to Slughorn's desk. He placed his hands on the desk and took a deep sniff. "I smell… mown grass," Another sniff. "Burning matches and…" There was a pause. "… Vanilla."

Ren noticed that Sirius looked rather put out as he made his way back to his desk. She tried to catch his eye, but he didn't look at her which Ren thought was odd.

The next two people to go and smell the potion was a Slytherin boy, who smelled pine needles and coffee, and Remus, who smelled mint, old books and hot chocolate fudge. It was actually quite fun to watch the expressions people had when they realised what smells they were attracted to.

"We'll have one more before we start brewing the potion ourselves." Slughorn said when Remus had taken his seat. "How about…" He surveyed the students. "Miss Gallagher, would you like a go?"

"Oh…" Ren trailed off but nodded before rising from her seat and heading over to the desk. She bent at the waist, slightly, and inhaled. It was an odd sensation having her nose attacked by so many beautiful scents. "I smell," She paused. "Fresh rain and… candle wax," She took one last sniff. "… and old spices." The last scent was obscurely familiar, but Ren couldn't quite pinpoint where she had come across it before.

"Excellent, excellent." Slughorn chortled. She returned to her seat and the lesson continued from then. They all brewed a cauldron full of the potion, but according to Slughorn only Lily, Ren, Remus and Snape had managed to brew it perfectly.

The rest of the day flew by, feeling oddly short because they had missed their first lesson. When Ren made it up to her dormitory later that afternoon, she threw her rucksack down and fell back onto her bed. It was actually quite weird how quickly the day had gone. It seemed like only an hour ago since Lily had been shaking her awake, saying how the needed to get ready for their meeting with McGonagall.

"Uh oh, Ren's dead." Came Marley's voice from the other side of the dormitory, and Ren grinned to herself, her eyes remaining closed.

"Are you okay, Ren?" Cassie asked from her own bed. Ren rolled over and opened her eyes to see all her dorm mates, besides Dorcas, were changing out of their uniform and into their own clothes, readying themselves for a trip to the library.

Ren looked over to Cassie saw that she was sat on her bed, fiddling with one of the few tiny braids that she had platted into her hair. Ren gave her a hazy smile before pulling herself off her bed and making her way over to Cassie's. She sat beside her and gave the blonde another warm smile.

"I'm perfectly fine, thanks Cass." She said, and Dorcas smiled back.

"That's good." She said. Ren shifted onto the bed fully, crossing her legs as she pulled them onto the mattress. She admired the small braid that Cassie was running through her fingers. Altogether Ren had counted four of them in her friend's wild hair.

The braid itself was incredibly small and intricate. Ren couldn't imagine how fiddly they it must have been making it. Cassie noticed Ren's fixation on her hair and shifter herself so that she was sitting directly in front of the brunette. "Would you like one?" She asked, and Ren looked up at her in confusion.

"One what?" She asked.

"A braid." Cassie explained. "I can do you one if you like." Ren smiled again and nodded. Cassie then reached forward and took a small clump of Ren's hair, below her left ear, and divided it into three even small sections before setting to work.

Five minutes later Dorcas had completed the tiny braid and had secured the end with a small, see through elastic band which she had retrieved from her bedside cabinet. Ren took hold of her braid and ran it through her fingers.

"Thanks, Cass." She said with a grin.

"That's alright." Dorcas said in her usual dreamy tone.

"Come on, you two." Interrupted Lily's voice. "Hurry up." Ren and Dorcas turned to see that the rest of their dorm mates were almost finished getting ready.

"Yeah alright, Miss Evans, give us a minute." Ren said before jumping up and heading over to the dresser where her clothes were kept. She pulled out a pair of old jeans and a white shirt that was slightly on the sheer side. Ren then shimmied out of her skirt and pulled on the jeans before removing her school blouse and pulling on the sheer shirt over her white under-vest.

She then picked up her oversized, knitted grey cardigan, which she had to wearing under her school robes for extra warmth, and pulled that on. "Done." She said, simply. "That didn't take too long did it?" She added with a smirk, and Lily chuckled.

"I guess not." She replied as Ren pulled on her converse. "How're you getting on, Cass? Lily then asked, turning to Dorcas.

"I think I'm done." The blonde said as she pulled on a pair or stripy arm warmers.

"I must say, I'm digging the arm warmers, Cass." Marlene said as she retied her ponytail.

"Oh, thank you." Cassie said. "Sizzlinders tend to have a pension for biting forearms when autumn begins."

Marlene looked at her dorm mates, silently asking whether any of them had any idea what a Sizzlinder was. Ren just shrugged when Marlene's gaze fell on her.

"Right," Emmeline interrupted. "On that note I think we should head to the library." And the group began to file out of the door and down the stone stairs.

"Honestly, you guys spend an unnatural amount of time in the library. It's weird." Ren was saying as they reached the Common Room.

"You can thank Lily for that." Marlene said.

"Yeah, we're just very good friends." Alice added, causing all the girls to laugh.

"Hey, Ren!"

Ren stopped laughing upon hearing someone call her name and spun round to see none other than Vanessa hurrying over to her from the sofas. Lily and the others stopped to wait for her, but Ren smiled at them and told them to go ahead.

She was curious as to what her sister would want to speak to her about, seeing as Vanessa rarely made the effort to start a conversation with her. Vanessa reached Ren just as the girls vanished through the Portrait Hole.

"Hi." The blonde said with a small smile.

"Hey." Ren said, smiling back.

The two of them stood facing each other for a moment, a sense of awkwardness beginning to form between the. Although Ren was initially curious as to what Vanessa would want, she couldn't deny that she was rather happy that the blonde had sought her out, regardless of the topic of conversation. "So," Ren began, folding her arms across her chest and pulling her cardigan tighter around her body. "How're you?"

"I'm good, yeah." Vanessa answered, quickly. "Good," She said again in a quiet voice. The average passer by would never have suspected that the two girls standing before each other were sisters. They were just so different, in every sense of the word.

There was Ren, tall like her father, with long tendrils of dark brown hair, even darker eyes and a warm smile for everyone, considering nothing had been done to discourage that smile. Her style was casual and comfy, not caring for the fads and trends of the time, and she had no idea what she wanted to do with her life.

And then there was Vanessa. Short like her mother, but making up for her height in attitude. Her blonde hair, which had grown considerably since the summer, carefully applied makeup, and fashionable clothes all created the façade of the happy, popular school girl. Not to mention the fact that she had had her future planned out since she was ten (Vanessa planned to become the proud owner of her very own clothes boutique). Yet the fact that a genuine smile rarely formed on her lips suggested that maybe she wasn't as put together as she wanted people to think.

These two girls, who had practically nothing in common besides blood, were now engaging in perhaps the most civil conversation, if you could call it that, they had had in a long time. As Ren looked down at her younger sister, she couldn't help but wish that the childish bickering and squabbling would soon be put behind them.

Ren missed the little sister who used to plait her curly hair when they were younger. The little sister who used to let Ren bedeck her in body and face paint, much to their Mothers irritation. The little sister who would always scream for Ren to push her higher on the swing.

Vanessa had taken it upon herself to grow up a lot quicker than she should have, and she seemed to have overtaken Ren on the maturity scale. She had always wanted to be seen as a grown up, always wanted to be adult so she could take responsibility for her own life.

Ren was the complete opposite. She wanted to stay young forever, free of responsibilities. But she knew that that couldn't happen. Growing up was unavoidable, so Ren made it her mission to just enjoy her life to the fullest and actually be happy, something which had been a lot easier since moving back to England.

"I was wondering…" Vanessa suddenly began, causing Ren to refocus on her. "Erm," The blonde swallowed. "I wanted to know if you wanted to have a chat, you know, to see how we are and stuff."

Ren smiled, warmly, at her sister, who was obviously nervous for Ren's reaction to her proposition. She clearly had worries that Ren would respond with a similar attitude to the one Vanessa had treated her with for the last few years.

"Yeah, I'd love too." Ren said, and Vanessa's eyes darted up to meet hers in shock. She obviously hadn't expected Ren to accept her offer. "Do you want to go for a walk, or something?" Ren asked, and Vanessa nodded with a smile. Ren had always loved her sister's smile. It revealed the two small dimples she had on her freckled cheeks.

The two of them made their way out of the Common Room and began to cruse around the chilly Hogwarts corridors. Ren was grateful for the extra warmth of her woolly cardigan, and when she glanced at Nessa she was glad to see that she was wearing a warm looking jumper in a nice shade of lilac.

"So, how are you finding it here?" Ren asked. "Do you like it?" Vanessa looked like she thought about her answer before speaking.

"Yes." She said, hesitantly. "More than I expected to." Ren raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" She asked, and Vanessa shrugged as they rounded a corner.

"I guess I just didn't expect to like it, y'know?" She said. "I was just so upset about leaving Durmstrang and my other friends behind that I kind of convinced myself that this place, and everyone in it for that matter, would be, I don't know… shit, I guess."

Ren wasn't exactly surprised at her sister's close-mindedness, but she remained quiet. However Vanessa, to give her credit, did look like she felt guilty. "But I was wrong, Ren." The blonde added. "I was so, so wrong."

She turned to look Ren in the eye. The brunette could see that Vanessa genuinely meant it. "I never felt as welcome at Durmstrang as I do here, and the people here are just… different, y'know? In a good way."

"I know exactly what you mean, Ness." Ren said as the two of them strolled towards the Marble Staircase. "I don't know about you, but I think we were lucky to get out of there. Even if it is just a year for me. Hogwarts is such a better place for you and Ollie to grow up." Vanessa nodded in agreement as they slowly descended the staircase.

"You're right. I'm happy here, and you and Ollie obviously are as well. That's all that matters, right?" She said.

"Right." Ren answered. "Now follow me, James told me how to get into the kitchens, and I don't know about you but I'm gasping for a mug of hot chocolate." She added before taking Vanessa's hand and dragging her in the direction which James had said the kitchens lay.

They quickly found the fruit bowl portrait, and after a quick moment of doubt over whether it was the pear or banana that was tickled, they managed to get into the impressive gleaming room.

A few minutes later the two sisters were perched on the end of the table that represented the Hufflepuff table in the Great Hall, awaiting the hot chocolates that a swarm of house elves had gone to take care of. The two of them were both in awe of the room and were busy examining it from where they sat, when a small voice grabbed both of their attentions.

"Excuse me, Misses?"

Both Ren and Vanessa spun their heads back around and saw a small house elf with large, floppy ears and big blue eyes standing before them, holding a round tray that had two steaming mugs of hot chocolate sat atop of it. "Kippers has Misses hot chocolates." The elf said in a squeaky voice. He held the tray high above his head, and both of the girls each took a mug.

"Thanks, Petal." Ren said, unaware of Vanessa's smile at the use of one of their Mothers pet names.

"Miss is most welcome. It was Kippers idea to put the marshmallows in there." The elf, Kippers, said.

"Nice touch, Kippers." Ren said.

"Yeah, thank you." Vanessa inputted.

"Oh, and by the way, I'm Ren and this is Nessa." Ren added, as Kippers blushed at their praise.

"Thank you, Miss Ren and Miss Nessa." The elf said, before scurrying off.

"What a cutie." Vanessa said. She then blew on the drink, lightly, in an attempt to cool it down. Ren silently agreed, but instead decided to indulge in her more gossipy side.

"So," She began, turning to Vanessa. "Have any boys caught your eye since we've been here?" She asked her sister, whose eyes bulged as she took a drink. "And don't lie to me because you're a shit liar. You do that thing with your lips." Ren added. She could Vanessa blushing as she pulled her mug away from her lips.

"No, not really." She said through pursed lips.

"Aha, liar! You're doing that lip thing!" Ren announced with a victorious grin.

"No I'm not!" Vanessa argued.

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are!"

Vanessa let out an irksome sigh and turned away from Ren in frustration. "Come on, Ness. You can tell me." Ren said, and Vanessa rolled her eyes. "You know you want to." Ren chided, scooting closer to her. The blonde couldn't help but smile.

"Okay, there is this one guy." She said, blushing. Ren grinned and leaned in closer. "I don't really fancy him, I just," She paused. "I sit next to him in Charms and he's really nice to me, that's all. Besides everybody here is really nice."

"Not everyone." Ren said, her mind flickering back to Chelsea. "So, who is he?" She went on to asked.

"His name's Regulus." Vanessa said, not looking at Ren, who couldn't help but raise her eyebrows.

"Regulus? As in Regulus-"

"Regulus Black, yeah. You're friends with his brother."

Ren nodded in realisation. She thought of the cold, snobby looking boy she had seen on the platform. He didn't look like he was capable of being "really nice" to anyone. But still, if Vanessa liked him then Ren wasn't going to do anything to interfere.

"Well, just be yourself around him and I'm sure you'll have him wrapped around your little finger in no time. Not that snooty girl from Durmstrang." She jested, and Vanessa smiled, weakly.

"Yeah, sorry about that." She said, and Ren just shrugged it off.

"Don't worry about it." She said, putting her arm around Vanessa's shoulders. "I love you no matter how much of a bitch you were."

Vanessa laughed and leaned into her sister's shoulder. Ren smiled as she inhaled the familiar strawberry scent she had been without for so long. She truly believed she was getting her little sister back.

**There is so much crammed into this chapter it's unbelievable. We've got Sirius' realisation that he will eventually start liking Ren, the briefing of the Halloween ball (I got all that off the internet, I have no fucking idea what occurs at a ball), Sirius' and Ren's bonding session, the revealing of the Amortentia scents, Ren's make up with Vanessa, and Vanessa admitted she fancies little Reg:3**

**I know a lot of you think that Vanessa's wish to make bond with Ren came out of the blue, but since I've been getting older I've been getting on better with my older sister and quite frankly I think it's really important to have that bond between sisters that is so unlike any other bond, in my opinion.**

**Anyhoo, I hoped you like it and that it was worth the wait, let me know by leaving me a review. God only knows when the next update will be.**

**Evie x**

**P.S. PLEASE REVIEW!**

**P.P.S. Again, I'm sorry for any mistakes.**


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